Boar taint - an off-flavour in pork from entire male pigs - has driven widespread surgical castration, but immunocastration and genetic selection offer welfare-superior alternatives.
Surgical castration without analgesia causes significant pain in young piglets and is a welfare harm that alternatives can avoid. Immunocastration eliminates surgical pain while achieving the boar taint reduction that drives the practice. Genetic selection for taint-free entire males offers a long-term solution that removes the need for any intervention. Consumer acceptance of immunocastration products and industry investment in low-taint genetics are the key barriers to progress.