Revisiting Cattle Temperament in Beef Cow-Calf Systems: Insights from Farmers’ Perceptions about an Autochthonous Breed

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Temperament is a key issue in beef cattle production systems, as it defines the responses of animals to human handling and to potentially challenging or fear-eliciting situations. However, little is known about how farmers define or assess temperament. Focus group discussions were carried out in order to analyze the perceptions of farmers regarding a series of temperament traits of animals, focusing on the Pyrenean cattle breed. Farmers described animal temperament using several adjectives such as “strong”, “aggressive”, “nervous”, “fearful”, “brave”, or “smart”, which account for their integrative vision of this concept. They reported a differential long-term development of the temperament of cows and bulls and mentioned that external features are not reliable indicators of temperament as compared with animal behavior. Sensory acuity, such as sight, hearing, and smell, were thought to be related to temperament. The results of this study are useful to better understand the decisions of farmers about cattle buying, selling, or culling, and their perspective about temperament should be considered in the research and design of genetic improvement schemes. ABSTRACT: Understanding temperament is an important part of cattle production since undesirable temperament may cause serious problems associated with aggression, maternal care, and human safety. However, little is known about how farmers define or assess temperament, especially in autochthonous cattle breeds. The aim of this study was to explore perceptions of farmers about the temperament of the Pyrenean cattle breed with special attention to beef cow-calf systems in Spain. The methodology used to obtain the information was focus group discussions (FGD). Farmers defined temperament as a behavioural response to challenging situations imposed by human handling. Specific terms used were related to active or passive reactions to fear (e.g., “strong”, “aggressive”, “nervous”, “fearful”). The speed of response to stimuli was also important. Female temperament was thought to become more docile with age while bull temperament was more variable. Maternal aggressiveness was highlighted as a potential human safety problem, but also desirable in an extensively bred animal who may need to defend calves against predators. Anatomical characteristics were seen as unreliable predictors of temperament, while behavioural indicators were more widely used, such as “alertness”, which was a general trait of the breed, and “gaze”, which, when associated with an alert expression, suggests a potential threat. Sensory acuity, such as sight and smell, were thought to be related with temperament in some FGDs but there was no overall agreement as to whether different behavioural responses were due to differences in sensory acuity. The results from the study could be useful during training programs or in the development of new genetic selection schemes and evaluation protocols involving cattle temperament.