Selective breeding for production traits has created animals with compromised welfare; breeding for welfare traits alongside production is both possible and increasingly supported by evidence.
The genetics of modern farm animals reflect decades of selection pressure for production traits — milk yield, growth rate, muscle mass — with limited consideration of the welfare implications. High-producing dairy cows have shorter productive lives, higher disease rates, and reduced fertility. Extreme-muscled beef breeds experience difficulty calving and chronic lameness. The tools to include welfare traits in genomic selection are now available, and some breeding organisations are beginning to include traits such as longevity, udder health, and leg conformation in their selection indices. This represents a fundamental opportunity to address welfare at the genetic level rather than merely managing the consequences.