Piglet Castration Debate
In Europe the debate about piglet
castration is very heated. Given the "boar taint" taste that the
flesh of intact pigs has, the swine industry is looking for humane
alternatives. Already Switzerland has announced that anesthesia
during castration will be mandatory as of 2009, and major
supermarkets in Holland have said that in 2009 they will stop
selling meat from piglets castrated without anesthesia. In Britain,
farmers have voluntarily been leaving male pigs intact for decades,
instead slaughtering them before they are old enough to develop the
condition.
In Norway, researcher Bente
Fredriksen is looking for alternatives such us including genetic
ways to produce taint-free boars or lower the ratio of male pigs,
and animal-welfare groups are pushing to keep a 2009 castration ban
in place and say farmers should consider using "immuno-castration,"
by vaccine Pfizer Inc. has marketed Improvac, a vaccine that
suppresses piglet puberty, as a way to sidestep the castration
debate while eliminating boar taint.).
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These little pigs get special care from Norwegians
To inflict suffering on God’s
animals unnecessarily goes against Christ’s teachings of compassion
and mercy. Piglet castration involves tremendous pain and fear for
the sake of taste only. As Christians we need to empathize with the
suffering of God’s animals and try to reduce it to the best of our
abilities. Adopting a plant-based diet helps us show compassion and
mercy to animals raised for food.
Your question and comments are welcome