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Developing and Validating Measures of Temperament in Livestock

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From Genes to Animal Behavior

Part of the book series: Primatology Monographs ((PrimMono))

Abstract

The extension of the concept of temperament to livestock dates back as far as the beginning of the twentieth century. Temperament in livestock has been shown to influence productivity, survival, ease of handling, and handler safety. A variety of terms are used to refer to different aspects of temperament (or personality) traits in livestock. Despite the variety of definitions and adjectives used, the underlying principle that animals behave in consistent ways over time and situations is the main defining characteristic of a trait. In this chapter, we explore the motivations behind the desire to assess livestock temperament. We review and summarize fearfulness, a major trait that has been widely studied in livestock to describe the complexities inherent in measuring aspects of temperament. We highlight the importance of temperament from economic and welfare viewpoints and illustrate with a number of studies that have demonstrated links between temperament and production. Finally, we evaluate the constraints of breeding for temperament traits and discuss what the future may hold in this area.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful for the support provided by the Scottish Government (RERAD) and the Department for the Environment, Farming, and Rural Affairs (UK).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Animal Behaviour and Welfare, Sustainable Livestock Systems Group, Scottish Agricultural College, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JG, UK

    Simon P. Turner

  2. Animal Behaviour and Welfare, Sustainable Livestock Systems Group, Scottish Agricultural College, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JG, UK

    Jenny M. Gibbons

  3. Animal Behaviour and Welfare, Sustainable Livestock Systems Group, Scottish Agricultural College, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JG, UK

    Marie J. Haskell

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  1. Simon P. Turner
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Correspondence to Simon P. Turner .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University, 2-24 Tanakasekiden-cho, Sakyo-ku Kyoto, Kyoto, 606-8203, Japan

    Miho Inoue-Murayama Ph.D. (Professor) (Professor)

  2. Department of Integrated Biosciences Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Seimeitou 502, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-8562, Japan

    Shoji Kawamura Ph.D. (Professor) (Professor)

  3. Psychology School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK

    Alexander Weiss Ph.D. (Senior Lecturer) (Senior Lecturer)

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Turner, S.P., Gibbons, J.M., Haskell, M.J. (2011). Developing and Validating Measures of Temperament in Livestock. In: Inoue-Murayama, M., Kawamura, S., Weiss, A. (eds) From Genes to Animal Behavior. Primatology Monographs. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-53892-9_9

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