Consumer Acceptance of the Use of Vaccination to Control Boar Taint

Global population growth and increasing demand for pig meat will continue to place pressure on the world’s pork supply. To meet demand the pig industry must become more efficient. One way to increase production efficiency would be to raise boars rather than castrates . However, pork from some boars can have an offensive smell and taste, known as ‘boar taint’. Because of this most of the world’s male pigs are physically castrated early in life. While this is effective is controlling boar taint there are issues with physical castration that make it undesirable. Compared to boars, castrates are less feed efficient, often grow slower and are fatter with less lean meat. In many countries, especially within Europe, there is also growing concern about the negative animal welfare aspects of physical castration, which is generally performed without the use of anaesthesia.