Preparation for the ban on piglet castration without anesthetic
The meat industry supports the approval of isoflurane for piglet castration by the farmer with proof of expertise. The decision takes into account that the market reality cannot be ignored in the transition to the ban on castration without anesthetic from 2021. The only way to ensure that the market can continue to be served with pork from Germany from 2021 is by approving stunning methods that farmers can use.
As an intermediary between agriculture and meat customers, the meat industry accepts all methods currently available to farmers in Germany: boar fattening, immunocastration with Improvac and anesthesia with isoflurane. We hope that the stunning devices will be certified this year so that the devices can be ordered from the beginning of 2020. Some slaughterhouses plan to buy the equipment and provide free training to the farmers who supply it. It is high time that farmers can familiarize themselves with the new procedure in good time before the deadline of December 31.12.2020, XNUMX.
In addition, the limited sales opportunities for boar meat must be taken into account. The experiences of slaughterhouses show that many national and international customers reject boar meat because of its specific properties. This also applies to Improvac boar meat. Traditional products such as raw ham and raw sausage cannot be made with boar meat. Even traditional sales markets in neighboring countries cannot be served with boar meat. Sales opportunities beyond the EU borders are also very limited. This is why high-production countries such as Denmark do not rely on immunocastration and boar fattening, but on local anesthesia and other anesthetic methods for piglet castration.
Anyone who decides to produce and market boar or boar meat (with and without Improvac) must be aware that their marketing options are limited, which will very likely also be reflected in the proceeds in the long term. It can be assumed that castration must remain predominant in the coming years in order to maintain the functionality of the German pork market. This requires the approval of several anesthetic alternatives, including local anesthesia. Otherwise it is to be expected that the smaller piglet producers in particular will give up and piglet production will migrate to neighboring EU countries, where there is no ban and other stunning methods are permitted. It is very likely that more pork will also be sourced from other EU countries if Germany is to remain with a single approved stunning method.
