Zootechnical science

It is one of the applied sciences that was systematized against the backdrop of the development of the livestock industry. In the second half of the 19th century, when the entire industry was shifting from a self-sufficient system to a stage of commodity production, attempts were made to introduce modern science into livestock farming, moving away from the traditional realm of ingenuity based on farmers' experience. These included livestock breeding, which applied genetics stimulated by the rediscovery of Mendel's law to the improvement of livestock breeds, livestock nutrition and husbandry, and livestock product processing and utilization, which were based on developments in physics and chemistry. It was in the 1920s that the system of livestock science was established through these various sciences. Today, livestock science is seen as an advanced, multidisciplinary science that encompasses not only the fields of natural science, but also various sciences related to livestock management.

Animal husbandry focuses on healthy livestock and consists of the following fields: (1) livestock anatomy, livestock physiology, animal genetics, endocrinology, livestock ecology, and livestock psychology, which study the biological aspects of livestock; (2) livestock breeding, livestock reproductive science, livestock feeding science, and livestock management, which apply the above basic sciences to improve livestock production; (3) feed science, forage crop science, and grassland science, which are used to produce feed for livestock; (4) livestock product utilization science, which is used to process and manufacture livestock products; and (5) livestock management, which is related to livestock management and the distribution of livestock products.

[Nishida Tomoko]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

畜産業の発達を背景として体系づけられた応用科学の一つ。19世紀後半に、全産業が自給体制から商品生産の段階へ移行するとき、畜産でも、旧来の農民の経験に基づく創意工夫による域を脱して、近代科学の導入が試みられた。それは、メンデルの法則の再発見に刺激された遺伝学を家畜の品種改良に応用した家畜育種学、物理・化学の発達に基礎を置いた家畜栄養・飼養学および畜産物加工・利用学などであった。これら諸科学によって畜産学としての体系が確立したのは1920年代である。現在、畜産学はこれらの自然科学の分野のみならず、畜産経営に関係のある諸学を包括した高度の複合科学としてとらえられている。

　畜産学は、健康な家畜を対象とし、（1）家畜の生物学的な面を研究する家畜解剖学、家畜生理学、動物遺伝学、内分泌学、家畜生態学、家畜心理学、（2）以上の基礎学を応用して家畜の生産向上を図る家畜育種学、家畜繁殖学、家畜飼養学、家畜管理学、（3）家畜の飼料生産のための飼料学、飼料作物学、草地学、（4）家畜の生産物の加工・製造のための畜産物利用学、（5）畜産経営と畜産物の流通に関する畜産経営学、によって構成されている。

［西田恂子］

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