Castration

Castration (also known as gonadectomy) is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, by which a biological male loses use of the testicles. Surgical castration is bilateral orchiectomy (excision of both testes), and chemical castration uses pharmaceutical drugs to inactivate the testes. Castration causes sterilization (i.e., prevents them from reproducing); it also greatly reduces the production of certain hormones, such as testosterone. Surgical castration in animals is often called neutering.

The term "castration" is sometimes also used to refer to the removal of the ovaries in the female, otherwise known as an oophorectomy or, in animals, spaying. Estrogen levels drop precipitously following oophorectomy, and long-term effects of the reduction of sex hormones are significant throughout the body.

Castration of non-human animals is intended for favouring a desired development of the animal or of its habits, or preventing overpopulation.

History

Castration was frequently used for religious or social reasons in certain cultures in Europe, South Asia, Africa, and East Asia. After battles in some cases, winners castrated their captives or the corpses of the defeated to symbolize their victory and seize their "power". Castrated men — eunuchs – were often admitted to special social classes and were used particularly to staff bureaucracies and palace households: in particular, the harem. Castration also figured in a number of religious castration cults. Other religions, such as Judaism, were strongly opposed to the practice. The Leviticus Holiness code, for example, specifically excludes eunuchs or any males with defective genitals from the priesthood, just as castrated animals are excluded from sacrifice.

Nat Geo Wild

Nat Geo Wild (stylized as Nat Geo WILD or abbreviated as NGW) is a cable/satellite TV channel focused primarily on wildlife and natural history programming. It is a sister network to National Geographic Channel and it is the latest channel to be jointly launched by the National Geographic Society and Fox Cable Networks.

It first launched in Hong Kong on January 1, 2006. The channel later launched in the United Kingdom, Turkey, Ireland, Romania, India, Vietnam, and Poland replacing the now defunct Adventure One. The channel remains the world's first bilingual wildlife service, available in English and Cantonese in the Hong Kong market as well as Tagalog in The Philippines. The channel launched in Latin America on November 1, 2009 as a high definition channel. In 2010, it launched in the United States.

As of February 2015, approximately 57,891,000 American households (49.7% of households with television) receive Nat Geo Wild.

Programming

Availability

Africa

The channel launched in South Africa in mid-2009, and is available on the South African Satellite Network DSTV.

National Geographic

National Geographic or NatGeo may refer to:

See also

The Incredible Dr. Pol

The Incredible Dr. Pol is a reality television show on Nat Geo Wild. The show follows Dutch-American veterinarian Jan Pol, and his family and employees, at his veterinarian office in rural Weidman, Michigan. The show premiered in 2011. His son, Charles, appears on the show and is also one of the producers. The show has set viewership records on Nat Geo Wild.

Pol and the show have encountered controversy with some of Pol's methods and treatment of the animals. In April 2015, regulators in Michigan found Pol negligent in his treatment of a dog struck by a car in May 2011. A disciplinary subcommittee of the Michigan Board of Veterinary Medicine voted on March 26 to fine Pol $500 and put his license on probation for violating minimal standards of care in his treatment of a Boston terrier who sustained an eye proptosis and a broken pelvis. Pol was also mandated to complete continuing-education courses.

Jan Pol

Jan-Harm Pol (born 4 September 1942) originally came from Drenthe in the Netherlands, where he was raised on a family dairy farm. Pol studied at the Utrecht University, where he graduated as a veterinary physician (DVM degree). After marrying his wife Diane in 1967, the couple immigrated to the United States in 1971. They relocated to Harbor Beach, Michigan, where Pol worked for another veterinarian for more than 10 years. They then moved to Weidman, Michigan where Pol and his wife started their own practice Pol Veterinary Services out of their home in 1981. Currently, Pol's practice has over 20,000 clients.