Elevating whole men as a substitute for castration

21 March 2024

2 minute learn

The apply of surgical castration raises issues referring to animal welfare. Elevating whole men is a substitute for castration. EURCAW-Pigs has reviewed key spaces within the review of animal welfare in whole men and how you can decrease welfare issues in this sort of manufacturing.

The advance of boar taint is suffering from control, housing and feeding, however boar taint isn’t a focal point on this evaluate.

Choice to castration

Male pigs in industrial manufacturing programs are incessantly subjected to castration at an early age to stop the improvement of unwanted odours and flavours within the meat. Alternatively, the apply of surgical castration raises issues referring to animal welfare. Elevating whole or intact men is a substitute for castration. Along with providing a substitute for an aversive remedy, whole men be offering a number of benefits in the case of stepped forward feed potency, diminished feed consumption and enhanced protein deposition, and subsequently additionally might be economically superb for the farming trade.

Key facets in housing and control

Within the housing and control of whole men the larger tendency for aggression and sexual behaviour should be addressed. Medical proof helps that 4 key spaces in a success housing of whole men may also be recognized:

1. Area allowance and workforce measurement: An larger area allowance for whole men does no longer cut back the extent of aggression or sexual behaviour according to se. Alternatively, area allowance turns into in particular vital when it permits animals to steer clear of agonistic encounters and mounting and thereby reduces the danger for accidents.
2. Feeding methods: Research point out that feeding through an extended trough, advert libitum feeding, feeding rainy by-products, diets with a top stage of amino acids, a just right hygiene of the feeding and ingesting position and enough water provide of the ingesting machine are related to much less sexual and competitive behaviour and no more pores and skin lesions.
3. Enrichment of our surroundings: Environmental enrichment, encompassing elements reminiscent of larger area allowance, get entry to to straw bedding, provision of roughage, or outside spaces, would possibly not essentially cut back agonistic interactions. Alternatively, enrichment occupies and distracts the animals from unfavorable encounters. Additionally, bedding decreases the slipperiness of flooring. In consequence, the danger for unfavorable welfare results reminiscent of pores and skin lesions and lameness is decrease.
4. Staff composition: A solid workforce composition is vital when retaining whole men. Alternatively, rearing of litters with none blending is tricky to put in force in present housing programs. Blending whole men with women is really useful for the men, even if from the perspective of the women, single-sex housing could be most popular.

Pores and skin lesions, lameness and loss of suitable enrichment are really helpful as helpful signs all the way through welfare inspection. Factsheets are these days evolved for those signs.