The question we were going to answer was whether the combination of immunocastration and dry or wet diet can help us eepen further the reduction of the boar taint following immunocastration. Immunocastration is an alternative to surgical castration. It has been agreed that its use heightens animal welfare, which is of full consumers’ acceptance, though it is not as efficient removing the boar taint as the surgical castration. Evidence exists however, that the level of constituents causing the taint can be moulded by fed diets. The study was conducted on 450 porkers, distributed among 6 sex*diet groups. The first three groups – gilts, surgically and immunocastrated boars – received complete compound dry ration, while the other three were fed fermented liquid diet of similar nutritional value to that offered in the dry diet. The immunocastrated porkers received two
doses of synthetic gonadoliberin Improvac®. Cholesterol parameters, 17β-estradiol, testosterone, and androstenone were determined in plasma. Total lipids for the fatty acid analysis and skatole contents were assayed in the longissimus muscle fat, backfat, and perirenal fat. The administration of synthetic gonadoliberin resulted in a substantial decrease of the plasma androgen level compared to that observed in the surgically castrated porkers. This effectively prevented the appearance of a
higher concentration of skatole in the tissues. Liquid diet also helped to level off the unfavourable differences regarding boar taint present in dry feeding between surgically castrated and immunocastrated barrows.