Genetic relationships between temperament of calves at auction and carcass traits in Japanese Black cattle

Correlations of calves' temperament with carcass traits were estimated to clarify the genetic relationships between them in Japanese Black cattle. The temperament records for 3128 calves during auction at a calf market were scored on a scale of 1 (calm) to 5 (nervous) as temperament score (TS), and the TS were divided into two groups (TSG): TS 1 and 2 comprised TSG 1, and 3 to 5 constituted TSG 2. Carcass data were obtained from 33 552 fattened cattle. A threshold animal model was used for analyzing the underlying liability for TSG, whereas a linear one was used for TS and carcass traits. The heritability estimates for TS and TSG were 0.12 and 0.11, respectively. On the other hand, moderate to high heritability estimates were obtained for carcass traits (0.40 to 0.68). The temperament scores were negatively correlated with carcass weight, rib thickness and subcutaneous fat thickness (-0.13 to -0.59). In contrast, weak to moderate positive correlations were found between the temperament scores and rib eye area or yield estimate (0.16 to 0.45). The temperament scores and beef marbling score had no correlation. These results showed that it is possible to improve temperament and carcass traits simultaneously.