Ethics in sheep breeding – unit plan

Students develop their knowledge of selective sheep breeding so they can formulate an argument and make ethical decisions about breeding easy care sheep.

Rights: Photographer: Susie Scobie, STRAIGHT FURROW

Easy care sheep

Easy care sheep are bred to have less wool in key areas making them easier and cheaper to maintain.

Purpose

To use growing science knowledge about selective sheep breeding when considering issues in breeding programmes to produce easy care sheep. Students should be able to describe the traits of easy care sheep and to list stakeholders involved in the breeding programme. Students will explore the consequences, rights and responsibilities and virtue ethics for the stakeholders and make justified decisions about the breeding programmes.

Keywords

Selective breeding, breeds, easy care sheep, traits, characteristics, flystrike, dags, crutching, stakeholders, ethics, consequences, rights and responsibilities, virtue ethics.