Good news for male pigs – castration not necessary
Published:April 11, 2008
Summary
If male pigs are slaughtered early they can avoid castration. Farmers are not keen on castrating piglets but the task has been necessary. Anyone who has tried to prepare or eat boar meat can recall the unpleasant smell of boar taint. The odour is due to skatole, which is a compound found in adult boars. But what if we eat the pigs before they are sexually mature? In a study at the Facu...
Why taking so much trouble to deal with this problem? Pfizer Animal Health is now marketing a vaccine that can solve this odour problem with two injections.