Professional paper
IMMUNOCASTRATION IN PIGLETS
Kristina Budimir
; Poljoprivredni fakultet Sveučilišta J.J. Strossmayera u Osijeku, Osijek, Hrvatska
Gordana Kralik
; Poljoprivredni fakultet Sveučilišta J.J. Strossmayera u Osijeku, Osijek, Hrvatska
Vladimir Margeta
; Poljoprivredni fakultet Sveučilišta J.J. Strossmayera u Osijeku, Osijek, Hrvatska
Abstract
Castration is a procedure that is applied on male animals with the aim of achieving better growth during the fattening period and the possibility of controlling the behavior of animals. One of the main reasons for using the surgical castration is preventing the occurrence of boar taint. Boar taint is unwanted smell of meat that occurs during the accumulation of scatol and andosteron in adipose tissue. The
concentrations of these hormones can be reduced by changing the feeding of animals. Drawback of surgical castration is lower feed efficiency, accumulation of adipose tissue and decrease of animal welfare. That is one of the reasons for European Union to forbid and cease surgical methods of boar castration. More attention is given to welfare of animals and in accordance with that, few methods have been developed that can replace surgical castration. It is local destruction of testicular tissue with chemical substance, down-regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary bond and immunocastration. Immunocastration is based on stimulating the immune system to produce antibodies against GnRH. Commercial application of immunocastration began in 1998 on farms in Australia and New Zealand. Vaccination was directed
against GnRH and it was conducted in two treatments. There was a reduction in the amount of hormones in the body, primarily follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). IMPROVAC is the vaccine whose use was approved in 2009 in the European Union. An effect of these preparations is decrease of andosteron
concentrations, sperm counts and reproductive organs. The studies that
have been conducted are related to growth traits and suppression of boar taint, and smaller impact on carcass characteristics and meat quality.
Keywords
castration; immunocastration; welfare of pigs; boar taint
Hrčak ID:
102699
URI
Publication date:
28.5.2013.
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