In mature boars the skin and subcutaneous tissues in the region of the scapula form Into a hard pad known as the shield. It is not known whether this is present less obviously in young boars used for meat production and, if so, whether it lowers carcass quality. The aim of this study was to characterise the shield and study Its development in young male pigs.

Characterisation study

Histological examination of tissue samples from the m1d-scapula region in mature boars (ie. >2.5 years of age) showed a high concentration of connective tissue. The tissue had a ‘rubbery’ texture and was difficult to cut. Outer and inner backfat layers were not discernible although approximately 0.80 of the depth of the tissue had the appearance of dermis and the composition of skin (Table 1) and the innermost 0.20 had the composition of adipose tissue (normal backfat). In boar No 1 the dissected shield weighed 3.7 kg, 0.26 of the weight of subcutaneous fat in the half carcass.