White Park Cattle Society

RULES AND REGULATIONS

As published in Herdbook 9. Rules may be varied by the White Park Cattle Society from time to time at their sole discretion. Please check with the Secretary if in doubt about the current rules.

Definition of Registers

There will be two full registers in the Herd Book. Register ‘E’ will contain entries of animals which can trace their total ancestry without break to animals entered in Register ‘E’, and which meet the breed standard and other conditions required by current regulations of the Society. Register ‘S’ will contain entries of all other animals that are eligible for registration as White Park cattle as recognised by the Society.

The Grading-up Register is closed except for female progeny of grading-up cows already registered which will be eligible for registration subject to regulations issued from time to time by Council. Animals which are the product of a registered White Park bull and a cow of another breed will be denoted by the letter “C” as a suffix to the Herd Book number; animals which are the product of a registered White Park bull and a cow in grading register “C” will be denoted by the letter “B” as a suffix to the Herd Book number; animals which are the product of a registered White Park bull and a cow in grading register “B” will be denoted by the letter “A” as a suffix to the Herd Book number; animals which are a product of a registered White Park bull and a cow in grading register “A” will be eligible for registration in a full register subject to approval by Council following an inspection of the animal and its dam.

Prefix

Each registered herd will be allocated a prefix which must be one word with a maximum of 12 characters. The prefix allocated to each animal shall be that of the herd to which it belongs at the time of birth

Records

Complete and accurate records must be maintained in each herd of the mating groups, births, deaths, sales and purchases of animals, and these records must be available for inspection by the Society at any time. An annual return must be made for each herd on the prescribed form (WPCS 1), and calving records (WPCS 2) must be returned for each cow and heifer in the herd, including barren cows and heifers, giving full details of the calf whether born alive or dead.

Eligibility

No application for registration will be accepted from a breeder who has not paid all fees which are due or who has not completed all records which are required.

Identification

Each registered animal will be identified by both an ear number and a Herd Book number. Calves must be tagged as required by Government regulations and the ear tag number must be shown on the calving record and the application for registration. The Herd Book number will be allocated by the Society.

A.I. and non-owned bulls

Where a calf is not conceived by natural service by a bull owned by the breeder, the application for registration must be accompanied either by the relevant A.I. certificate or by a certificate of service from the owner of the serving bull.

Embryo Transfer

Donor cows must be registered in Register ‘E’ and must be approved by Council at least ten weeks before flushing commences. The collection and transfer of embryos must be carried out by an operator and Centre approved by Council. Application for registration of a calf which is the result of embryo transfer must be accompanied by verification of parentage by blood-typing or DNA profiling. Such calves will carry the suffix “ET”. Regulations regarding embryo transfer are set out in Appendix 1.

Doubtful pedigree

In cases of doubtful pedigree, blood-typing or DNA profiling or any other appropriate procedure may be carried out by the Society. If the results do not confirm the pedigree declared by the breeder, the animal will not be eligible for registration, or will be de-registered if already registered, and the breeder will meet all costs associated with the investigation of that animal and will be subject to disciplinary action by the Society.

Registration procedure

Eligibility

All animals entered in the Herd Book must be registered in accordance with the requirements of the registration programme as detailed in these regulations and appendices.

Record of births

All births must be notified whether alive or dead with full details of colour and other characteristics that may be required on the appropriate form.

Time limit

Application for registration of each heifer calf, and birth notification for each bull calf, must be made within 3 months of the date of birth. Late applications for registration may be accepted at the discretion of the Council.

Mismarking

Whole-coloured and heavily over-marked calves may not be registered.

Application details

Applications for registration shall include the ear tag number of the calf, the Herd Book number of its sire and dam, its date of birth, its colour and such other details as may be required on the registration application document (WPCS 2). The name of a calf must be one word and may not exceed 12 characters.

Certificates

A registration certificate will be issued by the Society for each eligible calf for which proper information and full dues have been submitted.

Transfer of ownership

When a registered animal is sold the required transfer notification must be completed and returned without delay to the office of the Society. A new certificate will be issued by the Society to the new owner when the transfer has been notified.

Registration of bulls

Eligibility

A bull is not eligible for registration unless both parents are entered in a full register of the Herd Book.

Veterinary inspectionA signed veterinary certificate (WPCS 3), which must be completed by a qualified veterinary surgeon when the bull is not less than 10 months of age, is a pre-requisite for registration.

DNA profiling

A DNA profile must be submitted for a bull with the application for his registration.

Society inspection

A bull submitted for registration must be inspected by inspectors appointed by the Society when he is not less than 18 months of age. The inspectors will assess the bull for type and functional soundness, will evaluate his size and weight in relation to his rearing system, and will submit a report and recommendation to Council. Linear assessment may be carried out but is not mandatory. The dam of the bull also will be inspected if she is alive, together with any other close relatives that the inspectors wish to inspect. An inspection fee will be charged. If a bull fails the inspection he will not be eligible for registration and the breeder will be notified within three weeks of the date of the inspection. The breeder of a bull which has been rejected by the inspectors may appeal to the Council within three weeks of notification of the result of the inspection, and the bull will be re-inspected by different inspectors. If the appeal is upheld the Society will meet the costs of the re-inspection; if the appeal is rejected the breeder will meet the costs of the re-inspection.

Eligibility for breeding

A bull may not be used for pedigree breeding until it has been properly registered.

FEES

Fees are published from time to time by the Society.

BREED STANDARD

Type: The White Park is a beef breed which is thrifty and efficient. It is adapted to non-intensive systems of management and converts coarse herbage into high-quality, lean, well-marbled beef. The cows are noted for ease of calving, milkiness and high fertility, while bulls used as crossing sires confer ease of calving and exceptional hybrid vigour.

Colour: White with coloured (usually black, but red is permissible) points, that is muzzle, ears, eye rims and feet. Teats and horn tips usually are black, but may lack pigment. Some degree of undermarking is acceptable, but solid colour and overmarked (that is, colour blotches on the body or heavy markings on the neck) animals are not eligible for registration. The colour pattern is dominant.

Horns: Long or medium-long; In cows they normally grow sideways, curving first forwards and then upwards. In bulls they are stronger and less curved.

Size: White Park cattle are late-maturing; they reach full size at about five years of age, and full weight at about nine years of age. Strict standards of size or weight are not applied; it is recognised that these depend to a large degree on systems of management and climatic conditions, and the size and weight of each animal reflects its environment as much as its genetics. Average weight and size of mature bulls and cows (1994/5 linear assessments) are as follows:

Bulls Cows

Weight (kg) 955 635

Withers height (cm) 146.2 131.1

Rump height (cm) 143.0 131.9

Body length (cm) 166.4 147.5

Chest depth (cm) 86.5 75.3

Scrotal circumference (cm) 46.3 n/a

SALES

Auctioneers’ conditions apply when animals are sold at public auction.

SHOWS

Only animals entered in a full register of the Herd Book may be shown in recognised White Park classes. Separate classes may be required for Register ‘E’ and Register ‘S’ animals in some circumstances.

APPENDIX 1

Regulations relating to embryo collection, storage and transfer procedures are available from the Society.