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TOPIGS will soon start selecting finisher boars which have less risk of breeding offspring with boar taint. The technique to classify boars by their heredity characteristics for boar taint is ready to use. TOPIGS will start with the (Top Pi) Pietrain, the most used finisher boar in boar fattening.
European slaughterhouses currently discover boar taint in 5% of the non-castrated boars. TOPIGS expects that the selection of finisher boars will result in 40% less boars with boar taint. However, boar taint is also caused by sows. TOPIGS will therefore continue with a similar research programme to classify sows by their heredity characteristics for boar taint. If you use a LBT-boar together with a LBT-sow, the percentage of pigs with boar taint can be reduced by as much as 70%.
November 2011 - Topigs
