Page 16 - IAV Digital Magazine #581

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Bull Semen: Artificial Insemination Tanks Stolen In County Tyrone
By Louise Cullen, BBC
Two artificial insemi- nation tanks have been stolen during a burglary in Clogher, County Tyrone.
They are thought to have been taken from an outbuilding on Ballyness Road sometime between 15:00 on 21 October and 13:00 BST on 23 October.
The tanks contained what has been described as a "large quantity" of cattle
semen.
It is stored in straws in compartments inside the cryogenic storage tanks.
The size of the tanks stolen is not known but the police say they and their con- tents were of "signifi- cant value".
Cattle semen can be expensive depending on the quality of the bull.
Semen from prize- winning animals can command a very high
price.
This theft has sur- prised those in agri- culture.
Tools and quad bikes, even animals, are more easily stolen and sold on.
Semen storage is a specialised industry and as one farmer put it to me: "You don't mess around with liquid nitrogen."
It's used for cryo- genic storage - essentially freezing something to pre- serve it.
But that cold temper- ature makes it very dangerous, which is why those using it for artificial insemination storage must be trained and regis- tered.
And the tanks must be topped up several times a year to keep them functioning.
They are of a size that they can be transported in a car, strapped in with a seat belt.
But you would have
to drive very slowly to ensure the lid did- n't come off.
Preserving bull semen is about sus- taining genetic lines that can be irreplace- able.
I'm told the remaining straws of one Charolais prize-win- ning bull, which died some years ago, are now being sold for £500 or more apiece, as the quantity is running out.
The tank itself may cost £2,000 or more new.
But it is unlikely to fetch anything like that as a stolen item.
They will each have had five or six stor- age compartments in them, each contain- ing perhaps as many as two or three hun- dred straws.
But just briefly touch- ing the straw after lifting it out can kill the contents or vastly reduce their poten- tial.
Artificial insemination is important in farm-
ing for several rea- sons.
It is safer in physical and biosecurity terms than bringing a bull into a herd.
But it also allows farmers to develop the genetic quality of their herd.
That can be for pro- ductivity, tempera- ment or other charac- teristics.
And under the new Ruminant Genetics Programme, it is also for environmental reasons.
Scientists want to improve the genetic quality of the herd- stock for environ- mental performance - mainly reducing emissions - because agriculture is respon- sible for 28% of the greenhouse gas pro- duced in Northern Ireland, and most of that comes from cat- tle.
So part of the pro- gram's focus is on breeding cattle that produce less methane.
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine