RBST Semen Collection Appeal 2008/09 Sheep and Goat Semen ...

The Appeal
Although the Trust had for many years collected, stored and distributed rare breed cattle
semen, the need to expand the archive to include other species of rare breeds became urgent as
a result of the 2001 Foot and Mouth epidemic.
In 2002 the Rare Breeds Survival Trust applied successfully to the Tubney Charitable Trust for
funding to establish a National Rare Breeds Semen Bank. Storage of ram and male goat semen
will allow conservation breeding to take place and enable breeds to be re-established, should it
be necessary in the future. Thus the conservation of our sheep and goat breeds will be
optimised, both in the medium and the longer term, complementing the breeding programmes
of rare breed owners ‘on the ground’.
Aims of the Project
The aim of the project is to collect a minimum of 70 straws from 25 rams/male goats from
each of the 30 sheep and goat breeds that are recognised by the Trust. Selection will be carried
out by the RBST in conjunction with owners and Breed Societies on the basis of pedigree,
using both electronic and paper flock book records, to ensure that rams for collection are not
closely related. This breed analysis will ensure that the 25 males collected represent the broad
genetic diversity exhibited by the current live population.
Semen Usage
The semen collected will be divided as follows:
55% is to go into a permanent National Archive stored by the RBST
30% is to be stored for use in Conservation Breeding Programmes
15% will be available to the owner, free of charge
Semen in the National Archive will remain in store in perpetuity. This means that, in future, if
a breed were to be threatened and overcome by a catastrophe the semen could be used to avert
disaster. The allocation destined for Conservation Breeding purposes is available to
owners/breed societies (on application to the Trust). Any lambs or kids born as a result of this
insemination would belong to the owner of the ewe but the RBST would retain the right to
collect semen from any male born, or at a future date ova or embryos from females
(technology and costs permitting).
If an owner would like to make further collections over and above the proposed collection
period, all costs after this time and any further health tests must be met in full by the owner.
Innovis Ltd and the RBST would need to be notified of any intention to do this prior to semen
collection beginning.
The Costs
Ram and male goat owners are asked to volunteer their animals for semen collection so that, in
partnership with the RBST, the aims of the project are fulfilled for the benefit of the breed.
There will be no monetary payment to the owner for the semen collected, however, 15% of the
semen collected will be stored for sole use of the breeder, free of charge.
The RBST will contribute to fuel costs (35p/ mile up to a maximum of £125) if you take the
ram/male goat into the collection centre. Alternatively, if the collection of a ram is to be made
for both the NSP and the RBST then the Ark Consortium (see below) will transport the ram to
the collection centre. The RBST will cover all residency costs for the duration of the RBST
project as well as the cost of semen collection and storage costs.
Claire Barber, 28 June 2007