Farm Animals

Farmed Pig Castration Welfare

Surgical castration of male piglets without anaesthetic is common in many countries to prevent boar taint in pork, but causes acute pain and remains a significant welfare controversy.

Key Facts

Around 100 million male piglets are castrated in the EU annually
The vast majority are castrated without anaesthetic or pain relief
Boar taint (off-flavour pork from entire males) affects around 1-5% of whole male pigs
The EU has had a voluntary industry agreement to phase out castration since 2010 but practice continues

Welfare Considerations

Piglets castrated without anaesthetic show clear behavioural signs of acute pain: vocalisation, escape attempts and stress postures. Post-operative pain may last several days. Alternatives including immunocastration (Improvac vaccine), entire male production with taint detection and genetic selection avoid the procedure entirely. The welfare case against surgical castration without pain relief is overwhelming.

What You Can Do

Choose pork products from producers confirmed to use entire males or immunocastration
Support European campaigns for a mandatory ban on surgical castration
Advocate for mandatory pain relief as a minimum requirement where castration continues
Back research into rapid and reliable boar taint detection to enable entire male production