Pfizer Animal Health last month announced the Swiss launch of its boar taint vaccine, Improvac.
The company is planning to launch the product in further European countries once it has gained regulatory approval from the EU.
| "Pfizer Animal Health launches boar taint vaccine" View the video (5:34 mins) Visit the website This video, which also features a product testimony from Appensell-based swine producer Hans Breitenmoser, sheds light on the new boar taint vaccine. Jim Allison, Director Veterinary Professional Services, New Products Marketing, Pfizer Animal Health (USA), says that the practice of castrating male piglets is not only a concern to animal welfare groups. It could lead to infection and herniation, which affect reproduction and also cause the pigs to put on more fat and eat more feed. |
Pfizer says the product is a "major advance" for the swine industry, offering producers an alternative to the controversial practice of castrating male pigs to prevent boar taint, while allowing them to improve feed conversion efficiency significantly.
Boar taint is an unpleasant odor released from pork when it is cooked. The amount of taint varies from pig to pig, but is particularly high in meat from adult males.
It is traditionally prevented through castrating the animals in the first week after birth, a practice that has been banned in several countries.
Switzerland is preparing to outlaw the castration of pigs without anesthetic and has with legislation due to take effect in 2010.
Improvac uses the pig's own immune system to temporarily block the function of the testes, reducing the level of boar taint compounds in the meat....
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