Farm Animals

Pig Genetic Welfare: Selecting for Robustness

Genetic selection in pigs increasingly includes welfare traits, moving beyond production performance to breed animals that are more robust and behaviorally normal.

Key Facts

Genetic correlations between production traits like growth rate and welfare traits like leg health exist
Breeding programmes that include leg conformation, temperament, and disease resistance improve welfare outcomes
Genomic selection enables inclusion of multiple trait categories including welfare indicators
Industry commitment to including welfare traits in selection indices is growing but implementation varies

Welfare Considerations

Genetic selection is a powerful long-term lever for pig welfare improvement. Breeding programmes that explicitly include welfare traits as selection criteria can gradually shift population-level welfare in a positive direction, complementing housing and management improvements.

What You Can Do

Support pork producers working with breeding companies on welfare-inclusive genetics
Advocate for welfare trait inclusion in national pig breeding indices
Engage with research organisations developing genomic welfare assessment tools