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Frankie

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Or maybe just an explanation of AAA's rules on genetic defects.

Familiar ground

"History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. History is who we are and why we are the way we are."
— David C. McCullough

April announcement

On April 9 we announced the identification of a genetic defect affecting our Angus population — neuropathic hydrocephalus (NH). As members and breeders, we are going to define ourselves by the reactions and responses that we take to our latest challenge.
As a breed, when we look at who we are, we should look back to little more than 30 years ago. The year was 1978. As an organization we were challenged by a changing marketplace. A decade before, in 1968, the American Angus Association recorded 406,310 registrations. In 1978 we recorded 222,608 registrations.
In that time of business contraction, the Association was faced with genetic challenges not unlike it faces today. The actions of the Board of Directors during that tumultuous time were direct:

They approved publishing to the membership in the Angus Bulletin a complete list of animals carrying genetic defects.

They unanimously approved a motion to code registration certificates to reflect genetic defects and bulls progeny-tested free of any genetic defect.

The Board established procedures to progeny-test bulls for recognized genetic defects. At the October 1978 Board Meeting policy existed for progeny-testing bulls for syndactyly, but procedures for testing bulls for dwarfism, osteopetrosis, double muscling and red color were also directed.

At the same October meeting, the Board moved to cease registrations on AI-sired calves conceived 60 or more days after an affected sire's status was published in the Angus Bulletin or breed publication.

The point of my history lesson is this is not the first difficult time we have faced. History additionally shows that in 1978 we as a breed chose to address our challenges head-on by providing information to members about genetic defects, providing defect information on our pedigrees, using progeny testing to find noncarrier animals in affected genetic lines and to adopt rules that limit the spread of undesirable genes in the Angus population. I am certain these decisions, which history has proved were the correct ones, were not popular at the time.

The decisions our Association faces today are really no different, but the advantages we enjoy are much better. We have technology that can answer questions we could not answer 30-plus years ago. We have today a market share and a consumer demand that could not have been envisioned in 1978.

If history is our guide, the choices we make are pretty clear. Let's move forward.

— by Bryce Schumann, chief executive officer, American Angus Association

http://www.angus.org/newsroom/releases/ ... _SOTW.html
 
At the same October meeting, the Board moved to cease registrations on AI-sired calves conceived 60 or more days after an affected sire's status was published in the Angus Bulletin or breed publication.

i am pretty sure you can register DNA-tested non-carrier animals, but this doesnt look like it.
 

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