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Reducing aggression in pigs: lesions as a genetic indicator (2009)
This briefing reports recent work that examined aggressiveness in pigs. When pigs are mixed into new social groups aggression is a common problem that has negative impacts on welfare and production, and since aggressive behaviour is moderately heritable, it is hoped that it could be reduced by genetic selection. This research explored the possibility of using lesions as an indicator trait that can be shown to be genetically associated with aggressive behaviour. Using the indicator, it is hoped that selective breeding could be used as a potential means of selecting against pig aggressiveness.