In 2019, six herding households from the Bayandelger soum of Tuv aimag entered into a joint agreement with the soum governor’s office and consented to their lambs undergoing the electromagnetic radiation vasectomy method.

After the procedure, which happened in May, the lambs were left to roam freely with the herd for 2 months until August. In August they were separated from the herd and sent to grazing pastures in Baidlag bagh, with the permission of the soum governor. In October, the lambs were slaughtered at Prikom slaughterhouses and exported to the Islamic Republic of Iran. The average weight of the lambs before slaughter was 32kg. The six herders who participated in the programme earned a combined total of MNT 25.7 million from sales of lambs, as per the agreement.

In 2020, as many as 17 herders contributed animals to the lamb fattening trial. A total of 729 lambs were selected to undergo the vasectomy procedure. The lambs were reared in the same manner as in the previous year and were sent to slaughter between the 19th and 21^st of October. A total of 8,561kg of meat was produced from the lambs, making MNT 51.4 million in total revenue for the participating herders. Payments to the herders were made via a bank transfer.

“We will continue this market lamb fattening scheme in the future and we have already reserved 6,000 ha of pasture as grazing ground. Undoubtedly, the project has played an important role in disseminating this technology and raising awareness among herders.” B. Altansukh

NON-INVASIVE VASECTOMY METHODOLOGY

In collaboration with the company “Mash Science Fund”, SECiM C2 piloted a non-invasive vasectomy method for fattening 300 grass-fed lambs and calves in 2019, as a part of its efforts to contribute to increased animal productivity, i.e. carcass weight. This method uses electro-magnetic radiation to severe the seminal vesicles of calves (10-12 months old) and 3-month-old lambs. This method means that the animals are left intact and the development of sex hormones are unchanged resulting in normal reproductive behavior. This method is beneficial, in regards to animal growth, as intact animals gain weight faster than neutered ones. The high level of testosterone in these animals stimulates amino acid incorporation into protein, thus increases muscle weight. The results of this pilot programme showed

that 18-19-month-old bulls that had undergone the vasectomy procedure weighed 18-25kg heavier than their neutered counterparts. Likewise, the difference in live weight between 8-month-old lambs that had received a vasectomy and those that had been castrated was between 5-8kg. The meat from the animals which underwent the vasectomy procedure was protein-rich and nutritious. SECiM repeated the pilot programme in 2020 in Khovd, Khuvsgul, Selenge, Darkhan-uul and Tuv aimags.

A total of 1,805 lambs underwent the procedure and after being raised on a grass-fed diet, were slaughtered in October. The application of this noninvasive method has had positive impacts on the commercialization of sheep, a reduction in the labour intensive nature of the livestock sector, increased meat exports, and most importantly positively impact the sustainable performance of meat and meat product value chains. Scaling up this method may contribute to voluntary destocking, mitigating the effects of overgrazing thus helping to reverse the degradation of grazing lands.