Boars on the Way in cooperation with Pig Progress hosted a webinar on the environmental impact of keeping entire boars. The webinar was broadcast on Thursday, February 23, and can be reviewed in its entirety through www.pigprogress.net. In this webinar, Gé Backus explains the background of the study on the carbon footprint of entire male pigs. In addition, Mathieu Pecqueur explains on behalf of French agricultural cooperative Cooperl how they are dealing with the matter of castration and also well-known pig producer Annechien ten Have-Mellema from the Netherlands is sharing her experiences with raising boars.
The impact of ending castration of entire male pigs in Europe is explained in a two minutes YouTube animation. Ending piglet castration is better for the animal, saves money for the farmers and results in a lower carbon footprint.
Ending piglet castration in the EU results in a lower footprint of in total 4.4 million ton CO2 equivalents per year. Producing boars instead of barrows results in a better feed utilization and thus a lower footprint. The estimated carbon footprint of entire male pigs ranged from 3.57 to 4.00 kg CO2 equivalents per kg live wight, and from 3.93 to 4.28 kg CO2 equivalents per kg live weight for castrated male pigs. This equals to 300.000 ha land use annually saved.
Danish Crown will slaughter an additional 1.2 million male pigs. Keeping bears is good for both animal welfare and the sustainability of Danish pork production. A pilot project evaluates whether customers accept the larger amount of meat from male pigs.
Keeping a boar reduces CO2 emissions and is better for the welfare of the male pigs. Male pigs have a 0.2 more favorable feed efficiency than pigs. Converted to CO2 equivalents, this will work out about 3 to 4 percent lower. The boar project therefore also has a positive effect on the financial and sustainability performance of pig farms.
Danish Crown wants to increase the number of boars to be slaughtered per year from the current 450,000 to 1.65 million pigs. Danish Crown customers refused to buy bear meat for fear of boar taint. According to the Danish slaughterhouse, various customers are willing to accept boar meat, provided it is kept under control and with guarantees that it does not contain boar taint.
Danish Crown meat buyers are changing. They are prepared to accept meat from male pigs that meet age and weight requirements, are less than six months old, have a slaughtered weight not exceeding 87 kilograms and come from pig farms that are included in a monitoring program.
The larger number of boars will be slaughtered in the slaughterhouses in Horsens and Blans. “If customers are still negative, we can make corrections,” says Nicolaj Nørgaard, director of Danish Crown’s owner-oriented business.
More information: https://ejer.danishcrown.com/gris/nyheder/nyhedsarkiv/danish-crown-udvider-slagtningen-af-hangrise
Online surveys were performed with 11,294 consumers from ten EU and four non-EU countries. Four consumer segments were identified: Demanding, Average, Low-on eco, and Indifferent. It is concluded that consumer consumption motives and production preferences are sufficiently similar to include them as communicative elements in marketing strategies for meat from non-castrated pigs.
Retailers and food service operators in Belgium contribute to the ending of surgical castration in various innovative ways. Read their success stories and learn what they did right.
Belgium-based food retail giant launches castration-free pork products
The retailer launched a line of surgical castration-free pork products under its “Better for Everyone” label in June 2018. In promoting this label, the company highlights the benefits of the pig breed used and describes the properties and quality of the meat.
Discount supermarket chain moves to entire males
In 2012, a global retailer’s store chain in Belgium fully transitioned to the sale of meat from entire non-vaccinated pigs.
Supermarket chain adopts immunocastration
The company conducted a trial in 2010 to improve pig welfare by using vaccination against boar taint. It applied the vaccine on approximately 2,600 boars and monitored all production steps from vaccination to meat consumption.
Read more about these retail and food successes to end surgical castration in the PDF below.
Farmers and pork producers in France, Spain and Poland are doing their share to end surgical castration. Read their success stories and learn how they went about it.
Entire males in France
The leading pork producer in France integrates farming, feed manufacturing, slaughtering and meat processing. In 2013, it transitioned to the production of entire males, serving their meat to 13 million consumers each year.
Vaccination protocol to produce cured hams in Spain
In Spain, there are successes to share as well. Farmers in this country vaccinate Iberian pigs against boar taint to produce cured hams. Vaccination has improved profitability and animal welfare while maintaining high product quality.
Polish producer sees impressive results with vaccine
A Polish producer who uses a safe and reliable vaccine has had success slaughtering animals at around 8-9 weeks after the second vaccination. This maximises their revenues.
Read more about these successes to transition away from surgical castration in the PDF below.
Farmers, slaughterhouses, food processors, retailers and food service operators alike can benefit from ending surgical castration of piglets. Areas where advantages can be realized are animal welfare, feed efficiency, environment, quality and production.
The fact sheet below, issued by the European Commission, highlights the advantages, alternatives, best practices and success stories of ending surgical castration.
Reducing the risk of boar taint in entire males is essential for realizing market acceptance of meat from non-castrated pigs. The European Commission shared a fact sheet designed for pig supply chains, in order to help them grapple with this topic.
In the fact sheet below, the European Commission shares best practices and techniques with regard to feed, housing, breeding and slaughter, as well as benefits and success stories.
There are two alternative options for surgical castration while avoiding boar taint. One is to raise entire male pigs and the other is to vaccinate. Both ensure better animal health and welfare, higher meat quality, lower costs, and increased productivity. Pig farmer Mark Tijssen, slaughterhouse operator Derk Oorburg and retail and food service operator Wim van Kemenade elaborate on their experiences in the video below.
Mark Tijssen: Better health, welfare, and efficiency
Pig farmer Mark Tijssen started raising entire males 10 years ago. He finds them much more efficient than castrated ones, while animal welfare and health are also better. To reduce boar taint, he keeps clean stables and uses the right feeding components. To be successful in the future, he needs the commitment from all partners in the chain.
Derk Oorburg (Vion Food Group): The entire chain contributes, from farm to fork
Because the market required higher animal welfare standards and there was more demand for leaner meat, Derk’s company decided to start slaughtering entire males. The success of this lies in the entire chain, from farm to fork. High quality in the slaughter process is an important contributing factor.
Wim van Kemenade (Sourcing Manager at Albert Heijn): Less feed, same amount of meat
The meat from entire males is leaner, which meets dietary requirements for many consumers. Entire males are efficient growers as well: they produce more meat with the same food intake. So, it takes less feed to make the meat you need. Lastly, because no surgery is needed on the piglet, raising entire males raises the bar for animal welfare.