Farm animal welfare seminar – horned cattle focus
Improving poll gene testing in Australian cattle was one of the topics explored at this year’s RSPCA seminar on farm animal welfare.
The theme this year was “Gene Technology: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly”.
Over 100 people attended including representatives of livestock industry peak bodies and individuals with an interest in farm animal welfare. The livestock sectors represented were pigs, sheep, dairy and beef cattle.
Traditional breeding methods have been used for generations to improve productivity across a range of farm animal species, sometimes to the detriment of animal welfare. Focussing on a single production trait, for example, can have profound negative effects on animal health, robustness, and longevity. However, breeding technologies can also be used to improve animal welfare. The 2019 RSPCA Animal Welfare Seminar explored the use of genetic selection and gene technologies with application in farm animal production and their impact on animal welfare.
The seminar aimed to tackle thought-provoking questions around the use of these technologies to improve animal welfare including the ethical dilemmas we face.
There were many interesting presentations by a wide range of researchers and experts in the field of gene technology. These included a presentation about improving the welfare and economics of livestock production by minimising or eliminating undesirable characteristics such as the presence of horns. (See Proceedings, page 13)
Another presentation examined a pain free solution to de-horn animals by using advanced breeding methods. (See Proceedings, page 15)
Posted on in Animal welfare