liMouSin - Harrison & Hetherington

22BRITISH LIMOUSIN CATTLE SOCIETYHERD HEALTH DECLARATIONS AT SALESExplanatory NotesIntroductionFollowing the Herd Health Initiative introduced by the Society in 2005, a second majorhealth step saw the introduction of Herd Health Declarations at Collective Limousinpedigree Sales commencing with the 2007 May Sale at Carlisle and thereafter from 2008at all official Collective Society Sales.A service to customers and breedersThe principal aim has been to standardise herd health declarations and informationpresented in order to provide both members and customers alike with clear, accurate herdhealth information at the point of sale and within the given sale catalogue. As such weanticipate it will be attractive and informative for customers and will again further raise thelevel of buyer confidence.How do the Herd Health Declarations work?The sale entry form for vendors was accompanied by a Herd Health Declaration formasking vendors simple questions regarding for example: TB status; membership of CHeCS(www.checs.co.uk) health schemes (Advance Cattle Health Scheme, AFBI Cattle HealthScheme, Herdsure Cattle Health Improvement Service, HiHealth Herdcare, NML Herdwise,Premium Cattle Health Scheme, Shetland Animal Health Scheme) and Johne’s, BVD, IBRand Lepto status. This form is shown on the opposite page.How is this Herd Health Declaration information presented at the sale?A condensed version of the Herd Health Declaration information appears in the Vendors’Index at the front of the sale catalogue.What other health information may be displayed?By definition this is a Herd Health Declaration not an individual animal declaration.Vendors are however encouraged to apply to their respective CHeCS health scheme forindividual animal health cards for display on pens.IMPORTANT NOTE: For an individual animal’s test results, or vaccination histories,regarding BVD, IBR, Lepto or Johne’s, these are permitted above the sale pens only uponpresentation of a signed veterinary declaration to verify that the animal concerned has hada clear test.What does Accredited Free for Johne’s mean?If a herd has had two clear annual Johne’s tests, it is declared as being Accredited Free forJohne’s provided there has been no history of Johne’s in the herd. If the latter is the case,then in this instance three clear tests are required. The date the herd has been AccreditedFree since is also indicated on the Herd Health Declaration cards.