If one is familiar with the term pyrotechnics, one might guess that "zootechnics" refers to a festive display of animals exploding in the air.

Fortunately, this term actually refers to the science of breeding, taming, managing and raising animals in agriculture. Zootechnics is used interchangeably with animal husbandry and the field is concerned with animal reproduction, genetics, development, nutrition, behavior, and more.

An important sub-branch of zootechnics is concerned with redeveloping or preserving exotic breeds of domestic animals (such as horses and some birds) that are either extinct or extremely endangered.