Pig Castration and its Alternatives

Table of Contents

1. What this is about, who it is by and who it is for
   1. Orientation
   2. Aims and objectives
2. Introductory Quiz
3. Extent of pig production in the EU
4. Pig Castration in the EU
   1. Extent of Pig Castration in the EU
   2. How the prevalence of castration varies in different EU countries
   3. Proportion of pigs castrated across the countries of the EU
5. Consequences of raising entire male pigs
   1. What is boar taint and what causes it?
   2. Compounds related to boar taint
   3. Factors related to the presence of boar taint compounds.
   4. How boar taint compounds are perceived by consumers
   5. Anosmia
6. Methods of Pig Castration
7. Alternatives to Castration
   1. Production only of entire (uncastrated) males
   2. Production only of females / Spermatic selection
   3. Immunocastration
   4. Castration with anaesthesia and analgesia
   5. Summary of advantages and disadvantages of alternative methods
8. Attitudes of producers and consumers towards pig production methods
   1. Attitudes of the producers
   2. Attitudes of consumers
9. Summary and Post Tutorial Test
10. For more information
    1. References

Summary and Post Tutorial Test

On this page you will find a summary of the content of this tutorial. You can check how much you have learned, by filling in the missing words.

1

Pig production in Europe Fill in the missing words and numbers into the paragraphs below by using choosing from the pull down list. The pig population of Europe is over Choose... 19 52 98 198 398 Million heads (in 2007), accounting for Choose... 52 65 80 97 % of the total meat produced in Europe with a value of 29 785M€. Whereas production of Cattle and Sheep meat has slightly Choose... increased decreased over the past 20 years, production of pig meat has Choose... increased decreased. The five biggest pig producers in Europe are Choose... Hungary Germany Italy UK , Choose... Czech Republic Netherlands Portugal Spain , France, Poland, and Denmark, covering Choose... 25 44 65 90 % of the total European production. In Europe, about Choose... 50 65 80 97 % of male pigs are castrated and most of these are castratedChoose... without anaesthesia using anaesthesia (Choose... 52 65 80 97 %). However, in some countries castration is not allowed or not accepted (Norway, Ireland and Choose... Germany Netherlands Sweden Switzerland UK ). Well doneTry againYour answer has been saved.

2

Reasons for castrating male pigs Fill in the missing words and numbers into the paragraphs below by using choosing from the pull down list. The main reason that most male pigs are castrated is because entire males produce an off flavour in meat called boar taint. This off-flavour is caused by two compounds Choose... androstenone and testosterone androstenone and cortisol androstenone and skatole cortisol and testosterone cortisol and skatole testosterone and skatole which mainly accumulate in Choose... the muscle the fat the liver the skin . Choose... Androstenone Cortisol Skatole Testosterone is produced in the testes of pigs and is apparent in entire male pigs mainly Choose... after birth after puberty . Choose... Androstenone Cortisol Skatole Testosterone is a by product of amino acid metabolism again accumulating in the Choose... muscle fat liver skin of entire male pigs, and its levels can be influenced by Choose... feeding management feeding and management age and body temperature feeding and body temperature body temperature . The products most at risk are fresh pork meat andChoose... cooked processed products eaten cold meat processed products eaten hot dry cured products . Well doneTry againYour answer has been saved.

3

Consumer perception of boar taint Fill in the missing words and numbers into the paragraphs below by using choosing from the pull down list. Most consumers can detect Choose... androstenone skatole but detection of Choose... androstenone skatole is genetically determined, and varies between men and women and between countries. In Europe 24% of males and 16% of women sense Choose... androstenone skatole. Well doneTry againYour answer has been saved.

4

Methods of castration and alternatives Fill in the missing words and numbers into the paragraphs below by using choosing from the pull down list. The most common practice for castration of pigs in Europe is Choose... castration with anaesthesia castration without anaesthesia entire males immunocastration spermatic selection. But it causes short term pain and distress. There are alternatives such as developing systems raising Choose... castration with anaesthesia castration without anaesthesia entire males immunocastration spermatic selection, the use of surgical Choose... castration with anaesthesia castration without anaesthesia entire males immunocastration spermatic selection, and Choose... castration with anaesthesia castration without anaesthesia entire males immunocastration spermatic selection. Other methods such as Choose... castration with anaesthesia castration without anaesthesia entire males immunocastration spermatic selection to produce only female pigs are not yet available. Well doneTry againYour answer has been saved.

5

Producer and Consumer preferences Fill in the missing words and numbers into the paragraphs below by using choosing from the pull down list. Most pig producers consider Choose... castration with anaesthesia castration without anaesthesia immunocastration raising entire males as the LEAST acceptable alternative to castration, whereas most consumers consider Choose... castration with anaesthesia castration without anaesthesia immunocastration raising entire males to be the LEAST acceptable technique Well doneTry againYour answer has been saved.