Why it is so difficult to end surgical castration of boars in Europe: Pros and cons of alternatives to piglet castration

Abstract

Entire male pigs can accumulate sex specific off odours, i.e. boar taint, caused by the testicular steroid, androstenone, and the product of microbial protein degradation, skatole, which is formed in the large intestine. To avoid the off odour of pork and to reduce male specific behaviour, farmers have traditionally castrated their male piglets surgically and the procedure is still common in most countries. As this has usually been done without any pain relief, this measure faces strong public criticism. European stakeholders committed themselves to end this practice from 2018, but today, 75% of male piglets are still surgically castrated in the EU. Pain relief during and/or after surgery is increasingly used in some Western European countries to avoid suffering of the animals, but the surgery and risk of infections remain. Alternatives without surgical castration in pork production are raising entire males or immunocastration. Entire males have the advantage of a high growth potential and a good feed conversion rate, but the risk of boar taint and welfare problems due to male behavior limit the acceptance by the pork chain. Immunocastration reduces these problems but also decreases, in part, the anabolic advantage of males. To find country-specific, tailored solutions, there is a need to bundle the research activities along the pork chain and to spread scientific information to increase the acceptance of alternatives by farmers, industry and consumers.