Castrating
Deep Springs Valley, CA (1982)
Certain traditions have transferred almost entirely intact from Old World experiences into New World customs. Among them are the suite of practices associated with keeping livestock, whether cattle, sheep, horses, goats, or other domesticated animals capable of sustaining themselves on a free-ranging basis. Neutering male animals, to make them more tractable for handling, and to enable them to put on weight more quickly, is one such practice. So too is branding calves to indicate ownership. These understakings, while traumatic, are generally performed all at once, reducing the weight loss and the pain to the animal to one lifetime event.

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