Genetic selection… that is? Broiler breeds are the result of selection. Although the term ‘genetic’ makes one think of who knows what, it is natural selection that takes place by observing the behaviour of animals that, like any other animal being, carry with them a genetic endowment derived from their ancestors. The choice is therefore made to breed only those with certain characteristics. These animals grow up in protected breeding farms (which are not cartoon farms) both to protect their welfare in the broadest sense and to prevent all the care they receive from coming into contact with diseases brought in from outside and aggression from wild animals. The speed of the animal’s growth comes from allowing it to live (admittedly for less than it could) in the welfare generated by the attention on modern farms. Sheltered farms (a more appropriate term than ‘intensive’ which generates misplaced reflections) are much safer than any outside ‘shelter’.
