Single injection alternative to surgical castration in pigs

PROJECT SUMMARYInstructions:The summary is limited to 250 words. The names and affiliated organizations of all Project Directors/Principal Investigators (PD/PI) should be listed inaddition to the title of the project. The summary should be a self-contained specific description of the activity to be undertaken and should focus on:overall project goal(s) and supporting objectives; plans to accomplish project goal(s); and relevance of the project to the goals of the program. Theimportance of a concise informative Project Summary cannot be overemphasized.Title: Single injection alternative to surgical castration in pigsPD:Hess Rex A; Park ChanJin Institution:Insigna Inc.Surgical castration of newborn pigs is used to prevent aggression and boar taint the pungentodor caused by androstenone and skatole accumulation in fat tissues. However the process ofcutting the scrotum and pulling out the testes without anesthesia causes pain and stress in pigsand has a negative impact on employee morale contributing to already high personnel turnoveron US farms. Replacing surgical castration in pigs has been a difficult problem for decadesbecause the technical goals are to eliminate the production of androgens and to control forunwanted behaviors without eliminating the testis. Furthermore the replacement must be cost- effective and easy to implement or it will not be adopted on the farms. iNeuter is our solutionfor these difficult problems.iNeuter has been successfully tested in male rats where a single neonatal injection inhibitedLeydig cell maturation spermatogenesis and androgen production. The iNeutered adult maleswere infertile and exhibited no sexual behavior. The proposed project will test for proof ofconcept in the male neonatal pig and identify an effective safe dose.iNeuter has the potential to address several important issues facing stakeholders in the industry.First and foremost for the farm owners a cost-effective replacement for surgical castration;removal of an unpleasant procedure from the work-environment and reducing the risk of injuryfor employees; elimination of boar taint in the meat for consumers; and resolution of welfareconcerns for the animals due to the pain and stress currently experienced by the piglets.