what does it mean to cull an animal

To cull an animal means to select and remove animals from a group based on specific characteristics, often for the purpose of improving the overall quality or health of the population. In livestock or wildlife management, culling typically involves killing animals that are considered weak, sick, unproductive, or otherwise undesirable to control population size or enhance breeding stock. It can also be done to prevent the spread of disease. More broadly, culling involves segregating organisms according to desired or undesired traits and removing those that do not meet certain criteria, such as poor health, low productivity, or undesirable genetics.