Following arrival at the sale premises all cattle are subject to an official inspection conducted by a veterinary surgeon appointed by the society.
The aim of the inspection is to ensure all cattle sold at sales are free from any health and/or structural defects.
In an endeavour to avoid disappointment of having cattle rejected at the pre-sale inspection members should address the following checks before consigning cattle to the society’s official sales
- Ensure all entries are correctly double tagged in accordance with DEFRA regulations.
- Ensure all entries are accompanied by their correct passport and that the date of birth is as notified to the society.
- Ensure dentition is correct – teeth must make proper contact with the dental pad of the upper jaw.
- Those animals found by the official veterinary surgeon to have severely undershot or overshot jaws will be rejected.
- Bull testicles will be measured and must, at the widest point of the scrotum, attain a minimum measurement of 32cm. The testicles must also be of equal size, with normal conformation and consistency.
- Ensure all animals are free from warts (particular attention should be paid to the sheath and scrotal area), ringworm, mange, lice and other infections or contagious diseases.
- All bulls must be rung and halter led.
- Ensure all bulls meet the minimum weight for age standard as per the enclosed chart.
- All entries, with the exception of calves sold with their dams, must be DNA tested for sire or parentage verification and the genetic defect hypotrichosis. Animals testing as a carrier for hypotrichosis will not be permitted for sale.
- Ensure all animals are sound on their legs and feet. Exhibitors who find that any of their entries require their feet to be trimmed, should arrange to do so well in advance of the sale, otherwise they run the risk of this treatment affecting the mobility of their animal, resulting in rejection from the sale.
- Females must be sound in udder.
- All females, including for sale only entries, must have been washed and groomed and also halter tied during the pre-sale inspection.
All entries for sales in Shrewsbury, including calves, must be TB tested within 60 days of the sale. For sales held in Carlisle, Dungannon and Stirling, please check with the relevant auctioneers.
All entries must be BVD tested and vaccinated in accordance with the instructions issued by the society.
Sale animal health declaration cards preferably supplied by your herd health scheme provider must accompany all cattle and displayed at the sale.
Official sale herd health declaration forms must be submitted with entries.
The sale animal health declaration form regarding TB and BVD must be submitted at least one week prior to the sale.
Pre-sale inspection
Certain conformation faults are known to be heritable in cattle. Thus, when presented for sale, inspection for some of these faults can only benefit the breed.
Obviously, the animals must be able to be led for a gait inspection to be possible.
Malocclusion of the incisor teeth is known to be a heritable fault. The incisor teeth must bite on to the dental pad. Remember to check the mouth for being over or under shot (teeth not meeting the pad).
Bulls weight for age guidelines
