Treatments included: (i) sham castration (CON), (ii) surgical castration (CAS), (i ii) castration and short-acting local anesthetic applied topic ally to the castration wound (SHORT ) and (iv) castration and long-acting local anesthetic applied topically to the castration wound (LONG). Blood samples were collected from piglets before an d 30, 60, 120 and 180 min after castration to measure leukocyte and differential counts and cortisol concentrations.