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Chapter 2

Domestication Defined

Since this book is about the captive rearing and domestication of animals, it is
important at the outset to seek an acceptable definition for domestication. A
review of the literature reveals some common denominators and some differences
in the way domestication is viewed.

Approaches to Defining Domestication

Animal domestication is best viewed as a process, more specifically, the process by
which captive animals adapt to man and the environment he provides. Since
domestication implies change, it is expected that the phenotype of the domesti-
cated animal will differ from the phenotype of its wild counterparts. Adaptation
to the captive environment is achieved through genetic changes occurring over
generations and environmental stimulation and experiences during an animal’s
lifetime (Price, 1984). In this sense, domestication can be viewed as both an
evolutionary process and a developmental phenomenon.
Darwin (1859, 1868) suggested that domestication is more than taming, that
it includes breeding animals in captivity, is goal-oriented, may occur without
conscious effort on the part of man, increases fecundity, may bring about the
atrophy of certain body organs, enables animals to achieve greater plasticity
and is facilitated by subjugation to man, the domesticator. Some contemporary
definitions postulate that domestication is a condition in which the breeding, care
and feeding of animals are more or less controlled by humans (Bökönyi, 1969;
Hale, 1969; Clutton-Brock, 1977). This definition implies that a population of
animals is rendered domestic by exposure to the captive environment and by
the institution of certain management practices. Ochieng’-Odero (1994) proposes
that domestication consists of habituation and conditioning to environmental
stimuli associated with the captive environment. Whereas many important aspects
of the domestic phenotype are environmentally induced or can be linked to

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Domestication Defined 11

certain experiences, there are many adaptations to the captive environment that
can be best explained by genetic changes accompanying the domestication
process.
In response to claims that animal domestication was solely an experiential
phenomenon, Price and King (1968) and Bartlett (1993) proposed that domestica-
tion is an evolutionary process involving the genotypic adaptation of animals to
the captive environment. Ratner and Boice (1975) took a more ontogenetic
approach by acknowledging the contributions of both genetic change and experi-
ence in the development of the domestic phenotype. More recently, Lickliter and
Ness (1990) proposed a ‘developmental systems’ approach to domestication. In
their view, domestic phenotypes are not transmitted in the genes nor contained in
features of captive environments but are constructed by the ‘coaction of organic,
organismic, and environmental factors during ontogeny’.

Domestication Defined
It is difficult to formulate a definition of domestication that is general enough to
account for the many factors contributing to the domestication process yet specific
enough to be meaningful in terms of the evolutionary and biological processes
involved. For the purpose of this book, domestication is defined as ‘that process
by which a population of animals becomes adapted to man and to the captive
environment by some combination of genetic changes occurring over generations
and environmentally induced developmental events recurring during each
generation’ (Price, 1984). This rather simplified definition of domestication does
not assume that genes and the environment operate as independent factors which
additively combine to produce the domestic phenotype. Neither does it assume
that one can be understood in isolation from the other. As Lickliter and Ness
(1990) point out, development of the domestic phenotype can only be understood
in terms of the complex interplay of organic, organismic and environmental
factors during ontogeny.
This definition is meant to apply to domestication in general. It assumes that
the captive environment is different from the ancestral wild environment of the
species. It also assumes that certain general animal management and housing
practices are consistently applied over time in rearing and maintaining each
species in captivity. These are reasonable assumptions even for species which are
highly pre-adapted for life in captivity. Differences between the ancestral wild and
captive environments of a population allow evolutionary mechanisms to bring
about directed changes in the gene pool (i.e. mostly through changes in gene
frequencies) as the population adapts to captivity over generations. Consistently
applied animal management and housing practices allow certain environmentally
induced developmental events to contribute to the domestic phenotype in a
reoccurring manner in each generation. For example, research will be cited later
in this book showing that reduced fear of humans, an important component of the
domestic phenotype, is attained in certain captive rodents by rearing in traditional

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12 Chapter 2

open laboratory cages. Conspecifics (members of one’s own species) reared

in cages with burrows or other forms of shelter where they could visually (and
physically) escape from the presence of humans were found to exhibit stronger
avoidance behaviors toward human-like stimuli. Of course, genetic selection for
ease of handling also contributes heavily to the evolution, and thus development,
of this behavioral trait.

Adaptation to the Captive Environment

The domestic phenotype refers to that cadre of phenotypic traits that facilitates
the adaptation of captive animals to their environment. The range of environ-
mental conditions typically provided captive populations of some species (e.g.
livestock) on a global basis will be greater than for other species (e.g. laboratory
rodents). Hence, for any given captive population, attainment of the domestic
phenotype must be evaluated on a relative scale, based on the degree of adapta-
tion to the range of environmental circumstances in which the animals are most
likely to be found. Since degree of adaptation forms a continuum and is difficult to
measure, it is sometimes difficult to determine the extent to which a population
has become domesticated. Such decisions will necessarily be somewhat subjective.
Assuming a stable environment over time, the domestication process is complete
only when adaptation to the captive environment, including man, has reached
some maximal steady state (i.e. terminal plateau). Of course, phenotypic traits
may continue to evolve post-domestication as illustrated so well by the various
breeds of domestic dogs, cats and farm animal species.

Conclusions
For many persons, animals are domesticated when they come under man’s
control. While this is a necessary prerequisite for domestication, there is much
more. First, domestication is a process involving both genetic changes occurring
over generations and experiences associated with living in captivity which
typically recur in each generation. Domestication is about adaptation to man
and the environment he provides. Phenotypic adaptations to the captive environ-
ment will occur based on the same evolutionary processes that enable free-living
populations to adapt to changes in their environment. The major difference is that
in captivity, man can accelerate phenotypic changes, that would otherwise not
appear or persist in nature, through artificial selection (and now gene transfer).
Many of these latter changes are initiated post-domestication.

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