DBV strives for complete renunciation of piglet castration

Business, research, politics and animal rights activists are looking for new ways together

The German Farmers' Association strives for a complete renunciation of piglet castration. "Until this waiver is possible, we - in the interests of animal welfare - rely on pain relievers and not on anesthesia," explained the Secretary General of the German Farmers' Association (DBV), Dr. Helmut Born, in an interview with the political magazine Kontraste before the program was broadcast on July 30, 2009. The DBV also calls on the fast-food chains to take this German route in the market, which has been shared since last year by the Association of the Meat Industry (VDF) and the main association of the German retail trade (HDE) and the DBV is fully supported. The aim must be to find solutions as quickly as possible in the interests of the consumer in flawless pork and animal welfare.

Almost all male piglets worldwide have been castrated for centuries to prevent the unpleasant boar odor from developing during the preparation of pork. Animal welfare organizations are exerting massive pressure on politicians and food retailers to ban castration without anesthesia in Germany and Europe. Since April 01st, 2009, in the transition phase to the complete renouncement of castration, all piglets within the QS scheme may only be castrated with painkillers, as there is no practical alternative.

Boar fattening as an alternative to castration offers a solution if the sex odor of boar meat can be limited and the affected meat can be reliably sorted out. Methods are to be developed to identify portions of meat during slaughter that develop the typical boar odor when roasted, which consumers reject. In order to research this as quickly as possible, among other things, a coordination platform was set up in which business, research, politics and animal rights activists are represented, who are purposefully driving the way out of castration.

Source: Berlin [DBV]