Well my animals are going in my herd book even if I'm the only herd in it. It will be unofficial, as Ian says, but I want a proper record keeping. I set about writing the database last night and here's a sample from my first attempt:
I've also prepared a little website where you can download the details of the requirements of a society running an approved herd book. It's either as boring as hell or fascinating, depending on what you feel about EU Directives :D
Interestingly, as I read it, an EU based breed society cannot refuse to register cattle from any member state. So Germans, Spaniards, Italians, Bulgarians (?), can register, that's how I read it. I know DCS has EU members already but I didn't realise this was mandatory. Also, interestingly, again as I read it, DCS wouldn't pass the requirements in an application to become an approved herd book! You have to have a system for measuring performance to prove you know how to improve the breed etc.
As Ian says, only one approved herd book can exist in one country, but you can register in another country if you wish. Maybe I'm reading it wrong. I haven't studied it in great depth. It sort of reads like straight banana legislation.
I fully support Clive and Caroline's new venture as we also would like to have a full ancestry register for our dexters but cannot afford the bull fees for a bull that will only be used in our own herd.
One suggestion I would make is that all animals should have hair samples taken and stored, they can be kept by the breeder, and then if at any time in the future if you need to verify the parentage this can easily be done.
Bill Osborne, Forest of Dean.
Bill, not wanting to touch at all on UK business, your suggestion to keep hair samples is the next best thing to actual DNA.
I'd rather see every Dexter in every world wide society parent verified, (cheaply of course!!), but failing that, having those hair samples could make the difference if ever anyone wanted to rescue a genetically fullblood precious gem back into the pedigeed herd, or possibly for collecting semen for the overseas market.
Margaret.
I agree with what Ken has said in regard to the diversity of membership and the difficulty (imposibility) of pleasing everyone. I also believe that anyone on Council would have a hard job voting for something that they believed would be wrong for their business, you would always think of what it means to yourself, its called human nature and a little bit of self preservation. For some the good of the Society would take second place. Not suggesting that that is the case here, just making a point.
As Ken said, if you want something done about it do it in the correct manner that cannot be challenged, write to Council, put forward motions that they have to react too, no animosity, personal agenda's or glib remarks, do it because you think it is the right thing to do.
Just a point about long term storage of hair samples for DNA that came out of a seminar today. If we are taking the normal small samples with root follicles, then the follicle only has a storage time of c. 20 years before it decays too far for DNA to be extracted. DNA can be recovered from the actual hair itself, but a far larger sample is needed for a result than a root follicle sample. So, size of hair sample is crucial for the development of long term storage of potential DNA samples..
Clive, I don't know enough about this to give you an answer but I would suggest we ask DCS to ask the lab that processes our samples for an official guideline on taking hair samples for long term, 50 years +, storage.
The chap giving the seminar works on ancient DNA and was getting results from mammoth hair. He was a bit surprised to have a question about modern cattle!
