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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

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April 2026

Better Pork Magazine

Farms.com Swine News

Strychnine training available now

Wednesday, May 6, 2026

The mandatory training course for Prairie individuals planning to apply or distribute strychnine to control Richardson’s ground squirrels (gophers), is available now. The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) is offering the course until Aug. 1 to people in Saskatchewan... Read this article online

How to Keep Your Groundwater Safe and Clean 

Wednesday, May 6, 2026

Groundwater plays a vital role for families and businesses in rural and agricultural settings. It supports essential activities such as livestock care, irrigation, and cleaning processes, and in many areas, it's the sole source of drinking water. For this reason, it's critical for rural... Read this article online

Rising Waters on the Canadian Prairies and Beyond

Wednesday, May 6, 2026

Spring flooding is intensifying across large portions of Canada, placing farms under growing pressure during one of the most important windows of the agricultural year. From the Prairies to Central Canada and into Atlantic regions, saturated soils, elevated rivers, and damaged rural... Read this article online

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