Published: 15 Dec 2015 | Last Updated: 15 Dec 2015 12:37:00

VetCompass were pleased to participate in the Animal Science Conference 2015 at Newcastle University on Dec 9^th. Organised by the final year BSc Agriculture and Animal Production Science and BSc Animal Science students, the conference addressed the big question: ‘Artificial selection: has it gone too far?’. Over 160 delegates heard presentations from three key-note speakers: Dr Dan O’Neill (canine epidemiology), Mr Roger Blowey (cattle herd health) and Dr Grant Walling (pig genetics) that were complemented by three excellent parallel talks from pairs of final year students. Valid concerns about artificial selection were raised across the species discussed, but the overall conclusions of the day were that selection decisions are complex, involve many stakeholders, and therefore simple answers are not always possible for apparently simple questions.