The Canadian Bison Association is encouraging its members to register their herds as a way to build foundation stock and develop an individual registry.
The option became available in June, but few producers have registered their herds.
CBA executive director Terry Kremeniuk said he expects it will take a while for them to recognize the benefits and boost registration numbers.
The association says initial benefits lie primarily in posting information about herds on its website and listing them in its magazine, Smoke Signals.
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Contact information for producers and whether they raise Plains, Wood or crossbred bison could foster easier access for buyers and sellers, said Kremeniuk.
The CBA office will manage the herd registry. It is separate from the animal registry managed by the Canadian Livestock Records Corp.
The CBA wants to establish breed standards and maintain a registration system, but it has proven difficult to collect DNA that would establish an individual registry for each of the Plains and Wood bison sub-species. Registration of individual animals is relatively low.
“The lack of participation is related to the additional effort and cost associated with handling the animals, tagging them,” said Kremeniuk.
“It’s just an additional level of effort by individual producers that people were just not prepared to make.”
The CBA website said attempts to establish a foundation herd fell short of needed numbers for both Wood and Plains bison.
“Challenged by the inability to genetically differentiate between Wood and Plains bison, economic uncertainty and conservation interests in public herds, the Canadian Bison Association recognized a need to establish an economical process that would register either Wood, Plains or Wood-Plains cross herds based on records and phenotypic characteristics and herd history,” it said.
The herd registry model eliminates the need for individual DNA tests on individuals, although that is still recommended.
Herd registry requires producers to provide a herd history, a list of animals that are individually identified and a fee of $150. Photos of the herd bulls must also be provided.
Those who register herds will be required to file an annual update of any additions and the destination herd of any sales.
Rules require that additions to a registered herd be of the same sub-species.
“I think it’s a very good process by which the industry can get a better handle on the genetic inventory of the bison herd in Canada,” Kremeniuk said.
