Australian consumers accept immuno castration for pigs

Australian consumer acceptance of a technology that offers an alternative to physical castration should give more pork producers the confidence to use it, says one of Australia’s leading pork suppliers. The technology, known as immunological castration or immunocastration, involves administering a protein compound that works like a vaccine to reduce the risk of boar taint, an unpleasant odor that can occur when cooking meat from sexually mature male pigs. As a result, the country’s top-five integrated producers — accounting for about 60% of the industry — all now use the vaccine.“In terms of [consumer] backlash around the technology, it’s just been proven to be a non-event in Australia,” he said.“Consumers deem it as safe and they have other things on their mind, such animal welfare, antibiotics use and GM (genetically modified) technology.”Now that Australia has proven success with the technology, there was no reason why other countries couldn’t learn from the country’s experiences, he added.