Gene editing technologies including CRISPR are being applied to farm animals to confer disease resistance and production traits, with complex welfare implications that span individual animals and populations.
Gene editing in livestock presents genuinely complex welfare trade-offs. On one side: polled cattle genetics could eliminate dehorning suffering for millions of animals; disease-resistant pigs could reduce antibiotic use and infectious disease burden across the industry. On the other side: poorly characterised off-target mutations could introduce new welfare problems; unintended physiological consequences of genetic modifications are difficult to predict across the animal lifetime. A welfare-focused approach to gene editing would prioritise applications that reduce suffering, require thorough welfare characterisation before widespread deployment, and maintain strong regulatory oversight.