Search
Better Farming OntarioBetter PorkBetter Farming Prairies

Better Pork Featured Articles

Better Pork magazine is published bimonthly. After each edition is published, we share featured articles online.


Now, a contraceptive for wild boars?

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

According to Popular Science magazine, Texas A&M University professor Duane Kraemer is working on a pig contraceptive that can be administered to wild boars out of a feeder that uses facial recognition software and cameras to differentiate the tusked feral creatures from other less undesirable species such as raccoons.

The vaccine, which causes a female's immune system to block sperm from her eggs, was approved three years ago by the Environmental Protection Agency for use in the wild. The problem with its use has always been how to administer it. Trapping feral pigs – and Texas has about two million of them – is no easy or safe task and use of the vaccine hasn't exactly taken off.

It has taken the development of facial recognition software to make this a possibility for hogs. The vaccine was originally developed by the National Wildlife Research Center in Colorado for injecting white-tailed deer. A single shot renders four of five infertile. Deer are a concern because they run into traffic. Wild boars are estimated to rip up US$400 million worth of crops annually in Texas alone. BP

Current Issue

June 2025

Better Pork Magazine

Farms.com Swine News

The Future of Mega Farms

Friday, July 4, 2025

Canadian farmers debate whether large-scale corporate farms are a sustainable evolution or a risky overreach. The rise of mega farms in Canada has farmers talking, and not all of them are convinced it’s a good thing. In a wide-ranging thread on Agriville.com, producers debated where... Read this article online

Markets Show Signs of Strength

Friday, July 4, 2025

On the weekly Ag Commodity Corner+ podcast with Farms.com Risk Management Chief Commodity Strategist Moe Agostino and Commodity Strategist Abhinesh Gopal, the team agreed that markets showed signs of strength during the week of July 1 to 5, led by shifting yield expectations, trade... Read this article online

BF logo

It's farming. And it's better.

 

a Farms.com Company

Subscriptions

Subscriber inquiries, change of address, or USA and international orders, please email: subscriptions@betterfarming.com or call 888-248-4893 x 281.


Article Ideas & Media Releases

Have a story idea or media release? If you want coverage of an ag issue, trend, or company news, please email us.

Follow us on Social Media

 

Sign up to a Farms.com Newsletter

 

DisclaimerPrivacy Policy2025 ©AgMedia Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Back To Top