Abstract
Biotechnology is a huge field. This discussion will be limited to processes which require the manipulation of genetic material to produce a substance which is administered to a farm animal or manipulation of the animal's own genetic material. This paper is not intended to be a comprehensive review of all animal related biotechnology research but rather a brief outline of both the detrimental and positive effects of biotechnology on animal welfare. In the last section of the paper ethical questions will be discussed from the viewpoint of the author who has had years of experience in making practical improvements in animal handling and slaughter practices. 1,2 The use of biotechnology with farm animals can be divided into seven basic categories. The first category is the use of substances produced by biotechnology methods to improve the productivity of farm animals. One example is growth hormone injections. The second category is transgenic animals where a gene from another species is incorporated into an animal. An example is the insertion of human growth hormone genes into pigs. The third category is transgenic animals used as animal models in biomedical research and the fourth category is creating mosaic animals which are combinations of two species which normally do not interbreed. The fifth use of biotechnology is inserting genes into animals which will enable them to make medically valuable substances in their milk. The sixth area is deleting or adding genes to study basic principles of gene expression or replacing faulty genes to correct a genetic defect. The last category is an indirect use of biotechnology. Examples would be diagnostic tests and DNA fingerprinting.
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