Bison Registry

Canadian Bison Registry

There are two parts of the Canadian Bison Association Registry.

1. Registration of bison thorough the Canadian Livestock Registry.
2. Registration of Bison Conservation herds through the Canadian Bison Association.

Canadian Livestock Records Corporation Registrations

The Foundation Stock registry closed on Dec 31, 2011. A proposal to re-open the registration of foundation stock when there is sufficient producer interest.

Bison can be registered on the basis of current foundation stock by contacting:

CANADIAN LIVESTOCK RECORDS CORPORATION,
2417 HOLLY LANE, OTTAWA, ON K1V 0M7
Telephone: 613.731.7110
FAX: 613.731.0704
Email: clrc(at)clrc.ca Website www.clrc.ca

Bison Conservation Herd Registry

Vision: To preserve the genetic integrity of the bison species

Mission: To record the origin of Plains, Wood, and Plains/Wood crosses in public and commercial herds in order to preserve the genetic integrity of the bison species

Producer benefits of Registering:

• At your option, your herd will be promoted in Smoke Signals and on a Canadian Bison Association (CBA) website registry page. click here
• With the required information, your Wood or Plains Bison herd(s) could serve as a source of foundation stock for the individual bison registry.
• New producers or expanding bison operations will have ready access to information on bison herds that may meet their production needs.

Industry and Conservation Benefits:

• The segregation of Wood, Plains, and crosses by bison producers demonstrates a commitment to conservation of the subspecies.
• Communicates to Environment Canada policy makers and organizations like the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada that the commercial bison industry is committed to conserving the bison subspecies.
• Commercial conservation herds could be used as a source of genetics to restock public herds should they be depopulated for some reason.
• Potential of being part of the North America Bison Conservation Herd Registry where the Canadian and U.S. producers work together to reflect the commercial industry’s contribution to Bison conservation in their historical range.

Requirements to Participate:

• An active member of the Canadian Bison Association
• No crossing with cattle and other livestock
• Prohibited from using growth stimulants or non-therapeutic antibiotics
• Breed to maintain the phenotypic characteristics with crosses reflecting both characteristics
• Complete the application form part 1 including individually identified animals.
• Submit a $150.00 fee per herd ($75 for each additional herd).

Annual Review requirements & Herd Change Reporting

• Document herd changes such as bull or cow introduction including pictures of breeding bull additions
• Document herd of origin of breeding animals added to you’re herd
• New breeding bulls or females added to the herd must be of the same breed to maintain the breed integrity of the herd
• Plains or Wood Bison moving into a crossbred herd will have the breed status of that herd and would only be eligible for introduction into another registered Plains or Wood herd if individually registered
• Bison moved to or from the herd must have a bison RFID and visual tag. The tag numbers, gender and estimate date of birth would be recorded
• Submit changes along a $50 per herd administration fee.

Recommendations:

• Producers should work towards individually identifying all animals within the herd.
• Provide a photograph of herd bulls and six random herd photos representative of male and female animals in the herd.
• DNA samples should be collected on all animals entering the breeding herd once the herd is registered as it provides producers with options for future genetic identification.
• DNA samples should either be stored or sent to the CBA recommended lab, in case testing is required for proof of parentage or if requested by a buyer.

The Canadian Bison Association’s vision for the Conservation Herd Registry is to preserve the genetic integrity of the bison species. This will be achieved by recording the origin of Plains, Wood, and Plains/Wood crosses in public and commercial herds while concurrently supporting the infrastructure required to build the Wood and Plains foundation stock herds.

Since its introduction in 2014, those producers who have registered their herds have benefited as their herds continue to be promoted in Smoke Signals and on the CBA website. Producers looking for new breeding stock have immediate access to a list of suppliers of breeding stock that could support their breeding program.

In addition to the benefits derived by producers, segregation of Wood, Plains and cross herds clearly demonstrates the industry commitment to conservation of the subspecies. The bison in the registered herds would be accessible to populate public herds should for some reason new genetics is required. Furthermore the National Bison Association registrations could be combined with the Canadian Bison Association registry to demonstrate the status of these subspecies in commercial herds in North America.

Registration is easy. Please refer to the attached Bison Conservation Herd Registry Information. Conservation Herd Registry Application Complete Part 1 of the enclosed application form. Submit your application with the required fee to the CBA office. Part 2 and 3 of the application must be submitted prior to your annual renewal which is due January 31st of the first year. The annual renewal form is also attached.

The herd registry is managed by the CBA office. The individual animal registry will continue to be managed by the Canadian Livestock Records Corporation.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to call the CBA office at 306.522.4766.

CBA Pedigree Committee

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