The objective of this project is to facilitate a discussion on perspectives of animal welfare in animal breeding from the viewpoints of welfare scientists, geneticists/animal breeders, and key stakeholders in the livestock industries. The relationship between animal welfare and animal breeding is often positioned as adversarial and sometimes it can be challenging to collaborate. We want to better understand why these challenges might occur, and provide a roadmap for how to pursue animal welfare in genetics and breeding research in a way that promotes animal welfare from the perspective of welfare scientists, and is feasible from a geneticist perspective. This project involves a strategic series of workshops to facilitate constructive discourse on this topic and will ultimately result in a roadmap for improved collaboration between all stakeholders with regards to animal welfare in animal breeding.

This workshop will combine the outputs from previous project workshops with animal welfare scientists and animal geneticists to offer a facilitated discussion of the similarities and differences between visions, values, and definitions with regards to animal welfare in animal breeding. The main objective of this workshop will be to overcome any differences in vision to develop a roadmap or suggestion for animal welfare in animal breeding. We expect these workshops to be a stimulating and relevant discussion of challenges and opportunities in these key animal research sectors, as well as an excellent opportunity to network with colleagues within and across disciplines.