Pork production with immunocastration: welfare and environment
Résumé
Societal pressure to end surgical castration of piglets without anaesthesia and pain relief is increasing. Two
alternatives to surgical castration currently exist: raising entire males (EM) or immunocastrated males (IC), both
with advantages and disadvantages. Considering animal integrity, EM may be the preferred choice. However, research has shown that IC may solve some of the welfare issues associated with EM production, especially with regard to aggression (i.e. penile injuries). Compared to barrows, EM and IC grow more efficiently. Despite increased nutrient requirements for the animals, both probably imply lower nutrient excretion and a lower carbon footprint per kg pork. More research is nevertheless required on the feed of IC after the second vaccination to further enhance the economic and environmental sustainability because of the large increase in their voluntary feed intake. Increased knowledge is necessary to further improve the sustainaibility of pork production with immunocastration, which is also the purpose of the ERA-Net project ‘SuSI’ (Sustainability in pork production with immunocastration). This presentation will provide a brief overview of the impact of IC on animal behaviour, welfare and on nutritional efficiency to minimize the environmental footprint.