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The sad part is that farm animals that are smart are a hassle so they are often "discarded". We are basically causing (un)natural selection for stupidity.
by air7 5y ago
The sad part is that farm animals that are smart are a hassle so they are often "discarded". We are basically causing (un)natural selection for stupidity.
- cogman10 5y agoAt least for food animals, we are almost always selecting based on either flavor or quantity of meat. Very rarely does any other aspect come into play. Intelligence doesn't really matter. For factory farms, intelligent livestock simply have no chance of escaping. For small time farms, the animals are generally kept pretty happy anyways, so they've often have no reason to try and escape. There's not a lot of farms inbetween at this point.
- munificent 5y agoNot a farmer, but from my little knowledge, I believe animals are also bred for docility, disease-resistance, and growth rate. The latter two in particular are likely higher priority than flavor. Consumers don't seem to price discriminate on meat flavor very much, so the animal that puts on the pounds the fastest makes the most money.
- techacolyte42 5y agoMy family does small scale cattle ranching - we do end up selecting for some combination of dumber and more docile, just by getting rid of any cows that are aggravating ringleaders. Sure they're mostly happy, but the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, or you're weaning, and then it's really nice not having the ones who'll break free and take everyone else with them.