BEHAVIORAL-COMPARISON OF TRANSGENIC AND CONTROL SHEEP - MOVEMENT ORDER, BEHAVIOR ON PASTURE AND IN COVERED PENS

Because of the evidence that growth hormone gene transfer in pigs and mice can result in widespread pathological changes and more general co ncerns that transgenesis techniques themselves may have deleterious ef fects, a study was undertaken to compare the behaviour of two populati ons of immature female sheep, one of transgenic and one of control ani mals. The gene transferred was that for human alpha-1 antitrypsin fact or. In the first part of the study the behaviour of 25 transgenic (T) and 25 control (C) sheep was compared in three separate situations: co mpetition for a limited quantity of supplementary concentrate, six cat egories of normal behaviour on pasture and movement order when driven through a crush. With too minor exceptions (idling and 'other' behavio ur in focally sampled animals), none of the differences observed betwe en the two populations was significant and in most cases the mean valu es observed for T and C sheep were very similar. In the second part 25 T and 25 C sheep (different individuals from those in part 1) were co mpared in straw-littered covered pens for both normal behaviour and co mpetition for a complete diet provided in a trough. The only significa nt differences in the seven categories of normal behaviour were a lowe r incidence of idling and 'other' behaviour in T sheep. There was a di fference between T and C sheep in their social interaction under very competitive conditions (the T sheep reached food less quickly). The be havioural differences found in this study were all slight. Overall, th e findings suggest that the gene transferred had no detectable deleter ious effects on the normal behaviour of immature animals.