The Breed Development Committee of the Highland Cattle Society proposed the introduction of bull assessment, mainly as a means of weeding out poorer quality bulls. Council approved this measure, and now the process of consulting members of HCS to find the best way to carry this out has begun.

The professional examination by a vet to assess the health of the animal, undertaken at the breeder's expense, will remain a requirement. In addition it is suggested that bulls submitted for registration be inspected by two fieldsmen, who will together attend the breeder's farm to see the animal and submit a report with their recommendations.

A fieldsman's training day was held at Stirling in September, at which Jim Grant, a retired vet used to assessing Limousin and Aberdeen Angus bulls at Perth and Carlisle sales, spoke about mouths, locomotion and scrotal size. Fieldsmen need to take these factors into account, as an over or under bite can lead to serious problems, bad feet are undesirable in a hill breed, and scrotal circumference is apparently scientifically proven to have a bearing on the calf rearing ability of any heifer the bull may sire.

It is proposed that potential bulls be assessed in their normal environment, with the dam at hand and if possible the sire as well. Fieldsmen will be able to see the kind of land (height, hilliness, type of grazing etc) and judge the bull which has been bred to it taking these factors into account. Thus bulls should be able to be registered according to their fitness for purpose, so on high barren ground with poor grazing a smaller animal with excellent feet might be deemed more suitable than a larger animal with a good bite, which could be perfect for lower more lush ground.

It is not proposed that assessment should lead to breeding larger animals, nor that the maternal traits, including ease of calving, milkiness and hardiness, should be lost: this will be borne in mind when the bull inspection is carried out.

Members are being consulted as to what the next step should be, so if you have views on bull registration please send them to the HCS office in Stirling as soon as possible. All views raised in the consultation will be considered and reported on at the AGM in Oban in February, after which there will be another period for members to put forward their opinions before a final decision is taken by Council at its meeting in May.