In previous blogs I pointed out that, compared with other species, humanity is cursed with proportionally too many males and that this imbalance is the major cause of so much strife and misery in the world. I suggested a couple of ways in which we could reduce the number of male babies born and that societies run mainly by women would be less competitive and more cooperative. But reducing aggressiveness and thereby preventing violence from male animals is what vets do now! There would be very few male dogs or cats kept as pets which have not been desexed. Entire (uncastrated) males are more liable to fight and to roam, and female animals which have been spayed (ovaries removed) cannot give rise to unwanted offspring.

So is a veterinary approach the answer to the unending worldwide problems of overpopulation and conflict? This is a question of human rights and then only if individual males were to voluntarily sacrifice their ability to produce children. At present, it is common for some male humans to undergo vasectomy when they no longer wish to sire children, without losing the ability to have sexual intercourse with their spouses. But for males to become less aggressive, and to reduce the tendency to become violent, this would involve removal of the testes – castration.

Given that nearly all societies are now dominated by men, and male dominance determines the relationships between nations, a veterinary solution to preventing wars and conquest seems unlikely in the near future. However, legal castration could go a long way to reducing the danger from abusive violent men to women and children.