The main purpose of this Bill is to give legal effect to the decision taken by the then Government in October 1982 to discontinue the licensing of bulls. The Bill will also provide legislative powers to control bulls used for breeding purposes and to make regulations specifying the circumstances in which persons will be issued with a permit to keep an unregistered bull and the fees to be charged in connection with the issue of such permits.
The Livestock Breeding Act, 1925 was designed to control the quality of bulls used for breeding in Ireland. Under the Act inspections of bulls were carried out mainly by temporary inspectors who were selected for their knowledge of cattle. Some 7,000 bulls were inspected annually at over 400 approved centres. Between 85 and 90 per cent of the bulls presented for inspection were passed by the inspectors.
Since 1925 there have been many developments in livestock breeding — artificial insemination, progeny testing, performance testing, changes in animal husbandry and the introduction of new breeds of cattle. These developments were reflected in the type of bull in respect of which licences or permits were granted over the years. In all cases bulls had to be inspected visually under the licensing scheme. Practically all the applications were for pure-bred bulls entered or eligible for entry in the herd book of the relevant breed society. In general, non pure-bred bulls were not licensed for breeding.
However, where and whenever conditions so warranted, exceptions to this general practice were made. For example, non-pedigree Shorthorn bulls of exceptional merit were eligible for licensing throughout the country. In the Kerry cattle area non-pedigree Kerry bulls were also eligible for licensing. Following the first importation of Charolais and Simmental bulls in the early seventies there was widespread concern that the supply of such bulls from the herd-book sector would not meet the demand. Accordingly, as an interim measure, it was decided to inspect for licence, initially, half, or higher continental cross-bred bulls. As the numbers of continental pure-bred bulls increased, however, the percentage of continental blood required in the cross-bred for licensing was progressively increased to threequarters and seven-eights.
Under the old licensing arrangements, there were two rounds of inspections annually, in spring and autumn, followed by two rounds of appeal inspections. Additionally, an annual search, more commonly known as "the comb", for unlicensed bulls was carried out. As bull inspections had to be completed by specific dates, and as large numbers of bulls were inspected at over 400 approved centres, bull licensing was quite expensive to administer. The inspection system, at current prices, cost about £160,000 annually, whereas receipts by way of licence fees amounted to only £4,000. This left the nett cost of this service to the Exchequer at around £156,000 annually.
On the basis of the costs involved to the Exchequer, the previous Government decided in October 1982 to discontinue the existing system of bull licensing. The present Government endorsed this decision and announced that licences would not be required for the keeping of bulls in 1983.
EC Council Directive 77/504 on pure-bred breeding animals provides for the harmonisation of breeding quality standards and for such related matters as the recognition of breeders' organisations and associations, establishment and recognition of herd books, standards governing entry of animals into herd books, etc. In essence, the directive is stipulating that the quality of animals entering the herd book should be of a good standard and that such quality control should be exercised by the breed society concerned. However, the directive does not cover the use of non-pure bred bulls.
Following the announcement of the decision to discontinue bull licensing, the practical consequence was that there was no restriction on the use of bulls for breeding purposes. This gave rise to considerable concern by sections of the cattle and beef industry about the possible adverse effects on the quality of the national cattle herd and on the export trade in cattle, beef and beef products. It was contended that the absence of controls on the use of non pure-bred bulls for breeding purposes would result in the more widespread use of genetically inferior animals, with a consequential deterioration in the quality of the progeny. Additionally, it was claimed that the abolition of licensing could dilute the effectiveness of other measures being taken to improve the national herd.
In the light of those views, I requested the Cattle Advisory Committee, who are broadly representative of the cattle industry, to examine the matter. The Cattle Advisory Committee advised that the interests of the industry as a whole would best be served by the official authorisation for breeding of only pure-bred bulls registered in the herd book of the relevant breed society and the committee urged that appropriate steps be taken to implement that recommendation.
Agriculture accounts for roughly a quarter of our total exports. The cattle sector accounts for about 75 per cent of agricultural exports and about 13 per cent of total exports. Because of the importance of cattle to the national economy it is essential in the national interest to ensure that the quality of output from the national cattle breeding herd is capable of satisfying the demands of the market — largely an export one — and at the same time capable of giving a good financial return to the producer. The national breeding herd provides the raw material for both the dairy and beef industries. Indeed, a unique feature of the breeding herd is the considerable cross-breeding that takes place — about two-thirds of the beef output comes from the Friesian cow population. An important element in the quality of production from the cattle sector is the genetic merit of the breeding stock. Cattle breeding should be approached on a population basis to ensure that an effective national breeding programme operates.
As 80 per cent of our beef output and 65 per cent of our milk output are exported it is very important that we remain competitive internationally. To do this, we must continually improve the quality of our stock and match the progress being made by our competitors. Improvement and changes to meet needs in our livestock can be brought about by evaluation and measurement of the merit of individual animals and by selecting the best as parents of the next generation.
By repeating the process of identification and selection of superior breeding animals gradual and steady cumulative improvement takes place generation after generation.
The recording, evaluation and selection to bring about genetic improvement takes place usually in the pedigree sector. It is important that such genetic improvement is disseminated to the wider cattle breeding population, thus ensuring the continuing improvement of the national herd. Dissemination is carried out efficiently by commercial producers continually using bulls from the improved herd-book sector either as natural service sires or through the artificial insemination service. Bulls in AI usually undergo an additional phase of selection based on performance of their progeny — progeny testing — thus ensuring the highest merit in AI bulls.
A further reason for concentrating on herd-book registered bulls is the desirability of identifying the genetic make-up of an animal at the various stages of production. This country has many markets for its cattle and cattle products — each with its particular specifications. We have currently in the national cattle herd many breeds each with its own characteristics and suitability to fulfill the various market needs. Many of the requirements for markets are met best by cross-breeding. It is desirable that the breed make-up of the cattle be predictable from visual assessment — this is usually done by colour pattern combined with other minor indicators. Use of pure-bred bulls gives identification with a reasonable degree of accuracy. The significant widespread use of cross-bred bulls, on the other hand, gives undesirable variation in many traits of importance including colour which makes evaluation of genetic make-up and suitability for particular markets much more difficult.
In the course of the debate in the Dáil on this Bill many Deputies referred to the difficulties that would be experienced by many small suckler herds especially in the west of Ireland in purchasing and using pedigree beef bulls and argued that artificial insemination, because of their farming system, did not always offer a practicable alternative. In deference to the wishes of the Deputies, I have agreed that for a limited period of three years beef suckler herds with up to a maximum of 20 cows will be granted permits to keep quality non-pedigree bulls. The bulls must be inspected and passed by officers of the Department of Agriculture prior to the granting of permits.
There are 58,000 beef herds in Ireland with 377,000 cows in the beef suckler cow scheme with an average cow herd size of 6.5 cows. I expect, that as heretofore, many of these will continue to use artificial insemination. Indeed, I now understand that a number of AI stations have introduced a synchronised artificial insemination service resulting in higher levels of treated cow — 65 per cent approximately — proving in-calf.
The Bill provides that a person must have a permit issued under the Act if he has an unregistered bull. The circumstances in which permits will be issued will be laid down in regulations made under the Act. Permits will be issued for bulls kept for research purposes, bull beef production and similar enterprises, beef suckler herds, as defined by the scheme of premiums for maintaining suckler cows, to keep quality non-pedigree beef bulls for breeding purposes, and for pure-bred bulls registered in any herd book not recognised under Commission Decision EEC No. 84/247. This decision lays down the criteria for the recognition of breeders organisations which maintain herd books. For registered bulls, that is those entered in official herd-books, the breed society will issue a certificate for each bull entered in its herd-book.
The permits or certificates must be produced on demand to Department of Agriculture officials or the Garda Síochána when they are checking on the status of bulls under the Act. Inspectors and gardaí will have powers to enter land and to examine bulls found on that land.
If a person is believed to have an unregistered bull or a bull without a valid permit, he will be allowed 28 days to apply for a permit for the bull or else have the bull castrated or slaughtered. He can make representations against a direction to have the bull castrated or slaughtered. Should he ignore the direction to have the bull castrated or slaughtered, the Minister will be empowered to have this done at the owner's expense. The Bill sets out the maximum penalties that can be imposed for various offences under the Act. Finally, the Live Stock Breeding Act of 1925 is repealed by this Bill.