Genomic selection in livestock and companion animals can target welfare traits - reducing disease susceptibility, improving lameness resistance, and preventing inherited disorders.
Welfare genomics represents a powerful long-term tool for improving animal welfare at scale. Unlike management changes that must be implemented farm by farm, genetic improvements propagate through populations over generations. Selection for reduced lameness in dairy cattle, keel bone resistance in hens, and disease resistance in farmed fish can simultaneously improve welfare and production - aligning economic incentives with welfare goals. However, genomic selection has historically been used for production traits at the expense of welfare, and intentional welfare-first selection requires specific policy and market incentives.