Which term means choosing animals for breeding?

Which term means choosing animals for breeding?

• A. Culling
• B. Purebred
• C. Selection
• D. Animal Husbandry

Answer: (C)

Choosing animals for breeding is called selection. It involves identifying individuals with desirable traits—such as growth rate, fertility, or milk production—and allowing them to reproduce so those traits become more common in the next generation. This is the best fit because it directly describes the act of selecting breeding stock to pass on genes. The other terms describe different ideas: culling means removing animals from the breeding population due to undesirable traits, purebred refers to animals with a known, consistent lineage within a breed, and animal husbandry covers overall care and management of animals rather than the selective breeding decision itself. In practice, selection uses performance data and often genetic estimates to choose the top animals for breeding.

Choosing animals for breeding is called selection. It involves identifying individuals with desirable traits—such as growth rate, fertility, or milk production—and allowing them to reproduce so those traits become more common in the next generation. This is the best fit because it directly describes the act of selecting breeding stock to pass on genes. The other terms describe different ideas: culling means removing animals from the breeding population due to undesirable traits, purebred refers to animals with a known, consistent lineage within a breed, and animal husbandry covers overall care and management of animals rather than the selective breeding decision itself. In practice, selection uses performance data and often genetic estimates to choose the top animals for breeding.