The European Commission and representatives of European pig farmers, meat industry, traders, retailers, scientists and NGOs have committed themselves to plan to voluntarily end surgical castration of pigs in Europe by 1 January 2018, reports LEI.

In the EU, many different views on this issue exist.

To exchange knowledge and facts and identify solutions in the various countries, a conference – 'Boars heading for 2018' – is being organised by Wageningen University and Research Centre in close co-operation with the Organizing Committee consisting of organisations and companies in the Dutch pork production chain.

This international conference will take place from 30 November to 2 December in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The working language at the conference is English.

For more information about the issue, the conference and an application form, click here.