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Pork industry makes progress on pain management
Pain management for pigs has always been a challenge, partly because it’s difficult to measure levels of pain and partly because there are no FDA-approved drugs labeled for pain management in pigs.
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Optimizing nutrition key to unlocking full benefits of immunocastration
An alternative technique to physical castration could offer US hog producers a host of financial and management benefits.
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Australia’s experience with castration alternative should give global confidence, producer says
Australian consumer acceptance of a technology that offers an alternative to physical castration should give more pork producers the confidence to use it, says one of Australia’s leading pork...
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Animal welfare key to pork producers’ continuous improvement
Animal well-being is not a new concept and has long been a priority on hog farms. “It’s one of the ethical principles within the industry’s We Care initiative,” said Sherry Webb,...
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Castration alternative boosting efficiency, quality and welfare in Brazil
Pig producers in Brazil are improving efficiency, quality and welfare standards thanks to a novel alternative to physical castration, says a prominent swine veterinarian and meat scientist.
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‘We’ve almost forgotten that boars just perform better’
Ever since Larry Rueff, DVM, a swine veterinarian from Greensburg, IN, stopped physically castrating some of his pigs 4 years ago, and started using a protein compound that works like an immunization...
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Immunocastrated pigs eat less, convert more efficiently, so what’s holding them back in the US?
Imagine a corn field twice the size of Chicago. That’s what the pork industry could potentially save annually if it adopted an alternative to conventional castration. With about 55 million male...
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Retailers setting their sights on pain management in pig production
Although antibiotics and sow housing have remained center stage in recent years, retailers are increasingly putting pressure on producers to address pain management as part of their...
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Food-chain specialist: Communicate the emotional side of pork production, not the technical
The food supply chain has changed dramatically in the past 20 years. “It’s so much more complex and consumer driven,” said Justin Ransom, supply chain strategist. “Today’s consumer can ask...
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Can’t we just let boars be boars?
By Larry Rueff, DVM Swine Veterinary Services Greensburg, Indiana
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Boar-taint vaccination associated with less male aggression in Australian study
Boar-taint vaccination improved the welfare of male pigs kept under commercial conditions by inhibiting sexual and aggressive behavior, according to new research from Australia.
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Benefits of castration alternative presented at global pig-health event
Two world-renowned experts discussed the economic and welfare benefits of using a novel castration alternative at the 2016 International Pig Veterinary Society conference in Dublin.
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