Abstract
Abstract. Cattle temperament, which describes individual behaviour differences with regard to a stressor or environmental challenge, is known for its impact on working safety, adaptability to new housing conditions, animal productivity and for evaluation of animal welfare. However, successful use of temperament in animal breeding and husbandry to improve keeping conditions in general or animal welfare in particular, requires the availability of informative and reproducible phenotypes and knowledge about the genetic modulation of these traits. However, the knowledge about genetic influences on cattle temperament is still limited. In this review, an outline is given for the interdependence between production systems and temperament as well as for the phenotyping of cattle temperament based on both behaviour tests and observations of behaviour under production conditions. In addition, the use of temperament as a selection criterion is discussed.
Highlights
During the last several decades, new management systems have been introduced worldwide in cattle production, presenting new challenges for animals and farmers
Cattle temperament, which describes “consistent behavioural and physiological differences observed between individuals in response to a stressor or environmental challenge” (Sutherland et al, 2012) is found to have a considerable impact on performance, reproduction, health and animal welfare
One possibility for overcoming these problems is the analysis of the genetic background of cattle behaviour, which could contribute to the successful integration of temperament in breeding programs by the use of temperament associated markers and further help to evaluate the correlation between temperament and performance
Summary
During the last several decades, new management systems have been introduced worldwide in cattle production, presenting new challenges for animals and farmers. J. Friedrich et al.: Genetics of cattle temperament and its impact on livestock production and breeding mation on the physiological and emotional state of the animal overall, improving animal welfare evaluation. The possible genetic predisposition of temperament and the potential impact of temperament on cattle welfare and production traits has focussed attention on behavioural phenotyping and the opportunity of selection for temperament. One possibility for overcoming these problems is the analysis of the genetic background of cattle behaviour, which could contribute to the successful integration of temperament in breeding programs by the use of temperament associated markers (marker-assisted selection or genomic selection) and further help to evaluate the correlation between temperament and performance. The most important prerequisite to identify genetic loci affecting temperament is the development of distinct informative and reproducible phenotypes characterizing different temperament types
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