Zootechnics

Pecuary production: Bovines for milk.

The animal sciences is a science that studies various parameters for the best use of domestic and wild animals, but always taking into account animal welfare above all and whether these will be useful to humans with in order to obtain maximum performance and profitability, properly managing resources under criteria of environmental sustainability.

Deals with the study of animal production, as well as its derivatives (meat, eggs, milk, skin, etc.), taking into account animal welfare; setting as objective the obtaining of the optimal performance of the livestock farms.

In most Latin countries there are two words that are confused in the Anglo-Saxons. In Spanish there is a perfect distinction between zootechnics and livestock, art or practical object of this science. The same happens in French between zootechnie and elevage, and in Italian between zootecnica and allevamento. In English, on the other hand, the word zootechnics is a rarely used technical neologism, and the word animal breeding is more widespread to designate both science and art applied to animal breeding.

They have comprehensive training in various sciences such as mathematics, chemistry, biochemistry, biology, ecology, microbiology, crops, anatomy, plant and animal physiology, reproductive biotechnology, genetic improvement, health, meat and milk technology, technology and management of animal husbandry, environmental management, as well as economics, business development and marketing.

Zootechnical engineers or zootechnicians are people with the ability to holistically observe and analyze all the phenomena involved with animal production, genetic improvement, pastures and forages, animal reproduction, preventive health, animal nutrition and animal economy. It also has interference in the administration of agricultural companies, industries, ecology and environmental conservation.

Occupational Outlook

The fields of activity of the zootechnical engineer are in the public and private sectors related to the planning and management of the livestock industry and the administration of agricultural companies, they can perform as:

• Independent business activity.
• Management and/or administration of livestock companies.
• Community work.
• Scientific and technological research.
• Counseling and technical assistance to associative, communal and individual animal breeding companies in general.
• Technical advice on the transformation and marketing of livestock products.
• Fisheries research centers.
• Food formulation and analysis for animal consumption.
• Certify the operation and/or condition of use, status, quality and traceability in relation to your professional intervention.
• Certify agri-economic studies, regarding their professional intervention
• University teaching and/or technological institutes.
• Technical advice, planning and implementation of livestock projects.
• Consulting on livestock and purpose installations.
• International agencies and NGOs.
• Work in specialized companies, such as semen banks, embryo transfer laboratories and in vitro fertilization laboratories.
• Environmental impact study of livestock activity.
• Addressing the safety, hygiene and control of the environmental impact regarding their professional intervention
• Animal protection and environmental conservation.
• Zoos.