Why Artificial Insemination?
While artificial insemination does require more labor on the part of the animal caretakers and technicians, it has many advantages over natural breeding. By using artificial insemination, a tiger in a zoo in Europe does not have to be shipped all the way to the United States in order to mate with another tiger. Semen can be collected from the male, frozen, and shipped around the world much easier than a live animal ever could. This also means that the animals undergo less stress. By using artificial insemination, animal breeders are able to select the best mating pairs to increase heterozygosity and decrease the inbreeding often present in small populations. Individuals in the wild may also be used for AI. Semen can be collected from wild males in order to preserve their genetic material. Artificial insemination can be used when the male cat is unable to mate due to physical incapacitation. Minor injuries, such as a broken leg, will not prevent semen collection and subsequent AI. Even
