Welfare
Animal welfare: integrity
Animal integrity is defined as "the wholeness and completeness of the species-specific balance of the creature, as well as the animal’s capacity to maintain itself independently in an environment suitable to the species."
Most farm animals have been domesticated for thousands of years and as such have been adapted to an environment of co-existence with humans. They are easier to handle, able to reproduce in captivity, under circumstances with abundance of food and absence of direct predators. Breeders must keep a balance between the intrinsic characteristics of domesticated species, welfare and improved production levels.
Robust and healthy animals
Animal welfare: vitality
Breeding organisations ensure the health and welfare of the animals they keep and select. The search for traits indicating animal welfare is ongoing. New biological insights into function, genetics of behaviour and physiological indicators of stress and well-being will provide new tools that allow welfare traits to be treated more objectively than at present.
Adaptability
Breeders are producing animals for a wide range of production environments from extensive organic systems to more intensive systems on larger farms (that continue to get larger still).
Domestication
Most farm animals (and companion and sporting animals) were domesticated thousands of years ago. This is not the case with aquaculture species. Here, the domestication process has just started. Disease resistance (general and specific)
Breeding
Breeding may contribute to robust and healthy animals by selection for more general and specific disease resistance and consequently less use of medicines. Optimisation of use of medicines and vaccines, given the genetic make up of the animal, is a significant opportunity for development.
Animal integrity is defined as "the wholeness and completeness of the species-specific balance of the creature, as well as the animal’s capacity to maintain itself independently in an environment suitable to the species."
Most farm animals have been domesticated for thousands of years and as such have been adapted to an environment of co-existence with humans. They are easier to handle, able to reproduce in captivity, under circumstances with abundance of food and absence of direct predators. Breeders must keep a balance between the intrinsic characteristics of domesticated species, welfare and improved production levels.
Robust and healthy animals
Animal welfare: vitality
Breeding organisations ensure the health and welfare of the animals they keep and select. The search for traits indicating animal welfare is ongoing. New biological insights into function, genetics of behaviour and physiological indicators of stress and well-being will provide new tools that allow welfare traits to be treated more objectively than at present.
Adaptability
Breeders are producing animals for a wide range of production environments from extensive organic systems to more intensive systems on larger farms (that continue to get larger still).
Domestication
Most farm animals (and companion and sporting animals) were domesticated thousands of years ago. This is not the case with aquaculture species. Here, the domestication process has just started. Disease resistance (general and specific)
Breeding
Breeding may contribute to robust and healthy animals by selection for more general and specific disease resistance and consequently less use of medicines. Optimisation of use of medicines and vaccines, given the genetic make up of the animal, is a significant opportunity for development.
