Historically, castrating male piglets has been part of the technical itinerary for breeding pigs. It helps to produce pork of impeccable quality by preventing the accumulation of compounds with unpleasant odours, and helps to manage the behaviour of fattening pigs in groups by avoiding mature animals from becoming aggressive and avoiding unwanted reproduction when the sexes are not separated. This practice has evolved over the years, taking into account the growing concerns of farmers and society at large with respect to animal welfare into consideration, as well as technological advances in breeding.
Since October 2018, the NoWallOdor project has aimed to develop procedures and tools that can be used to select Piétrain boars with a low risk of boar taint. This eliminates the need for castration, and makes it possible to raise piglets and fatten pigs that have not been castrated. This project includes strict monitoring of the animals from breeding through slaughter, meat analyses, phenotyping, including analyses of odorous compounds in the laboratory, and a sensory assessment of meat samples. It also involves developing a genetic-selection scheme, integrating genotyping and genome selection and developing genetic evaluation models within a consortium that includes ULiège, Elevéo, the CRA-W, the CER-Groupe and SoCoPro (the Producers’ Association).
At this stage, a genotyping strategy has been implemented, with 2,705 animals genotyped and identified. At the same time, a database has been developed to record innovative phenotypes, with the aim of conducting genome evaluations by adapting multi-trait genetic methods. Soon, this work will enable the genome evaluation of growth, ingestion and carcass-quality properties. This information will be communicated to farmers on a regular basis. It will also be supplemented with estimates of the genomic breeding value as it pertains to ‘odour risk’.
In order to optimise monitoring, and to continue developing these procedures and tools, the CRA-W acquired automated feeding, watering and weighing machines for pigs during the fattening period at the beginning of 2024 (Selfifeeder® and aqualab®, Asserva). This equipment makes it possible to continuously measure individual performance (weight, ingestion of feed and water), and provides accurate behavioural data. In this way, it offers significantly improved measurements, taking data from the animals themselves rather than data from their living quarters.
