National Scrapie Plan

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NATIONAL SCRAPIE PLAN

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This bar chart provides a breakdown by genotype group (1-5) of all Texel sheep tested by the National Scrapie Plan since its launch in 2001.

Details of the significance of the different genotype groups can be found at www.defra.gov.uk/nsp . Click on "schemes and initiatives" and then "Ram genotyping Scheme for Purebred Flocks": NSP1 is the link to the scheme brochure.

Dear Breeder, Consent to release National Scrapie Plan genotype information to the Texel Sheep Society BASCO Data Ltd, the collaborative database company owned by the Texel, Suffolk and Limousin Societies was recently awarded an Agricultural Development Fund Grant amounting to £435K to further enhance the BASCO pedigree database. One of the early enhancements programmed is developing a link between BASCO and the National Scrapie Plan to enable the download of genotype information into the BASCO Database. It is the Society’s intention to include genotype information in sale catalogues and on pedigree certificates and to include bolus numbers as an added form of verification. Currently the time involved in manually entering bolus numbers makes the proposal unworkable. However thanks to the grant the automatic incorporation of NSP information is now a reality and we are anxious, if possible, to get 2005 NSP genotyping information incorporated as soon as possible. Before the NSP can release your genotype information it is necessary to get written consent. I hope you will support this initiative and would ask that you complete the declaration and return to the Society Office as soon as possible.  Upon receipt NSPAC will release your genotyping information to the Society for automatic download into the BASCO database. I should explain that on receipt of the electronic download, the database automatically validates the information to ensure that it matches certain criteria held by the Society. In particular you need to ensure that the animal identity given to NSPAC staff at time of blood testing is the Society flock book number e.g. ABC06123 (Note the format must be 3-letter flock code followed by 2-digit year of birth followed by 3-digit animal ID (Animal ID number 4 needs to be recorded as 004)).  Failure to record animal identities in the above format will result in validation failure (Even the BASCO Database can’t work out the true flock book number of “Blue 24” or UK 123456 24 etc!) Thank you for your co-operation. Kind regards Yours sincerely Steven J McLean Chief Executive  Full details & declaration

Review of Texel Ram Lambs

The National Scrapie Plan for Great Britain is now into its fourth year of testing and to date has delivered genotype results for more than 1.3 million animals, including more than 197,000 Texels from 1690 flocks.

A review of the statistical data relating to Texel ram lambs has revealed an improving trend in ram lamb genotypes for Texel flocks participating in the NSP.

Last year, for the first time, results were contrasted for animals tested in 2002 and 2003. This has now been extended to include results for ram lambs born to NSP flocks in 2004. This comparison provides the opportunity to review the progress of the breed (in terms of development of genotypes) and to judge whether the goals of the NSP are being met. It should also help to ensure that an optimal balance is being maintained between genotype improvement and other breeding considerations.

Progress in Texel flocks

The table below shows the division of NSP genotype results (by NSP Type category) for ram lambs born in years 2002, 2003 and 2004. The same data is presented in the accompanying bar-charts.

Division of NSP results by NSP Type for ram lambs born in 2002, 2003 and 2004. Values to nearest 0.1%

The figures (which combine results from both society registered and non-registered flocks) show that the breed has recorded a strong improvement in the levels of both Type 1 (ARR/ARR) and Type 2 (ARR/AHQ, ARR/ARH, ARR/ARQ) genotypes. The proportion of ram lambs testing for either Type 1 or Type 2 in year 2004 is 86.4%, up from 57.9% in 2002.

Furthermore, the proportion of ram lambs testing for the most risk-associated Type 5 genotypes, has dropped from 3.4% in 2002 to 0.6% in 2004.

Finally, over the same period the proportion of ram lambs in the Type 3 category (genotypes with neither the protective ARR or the risk-associated VRQ genes) has declined from 36.8% to 11.1%.

The above results plotted in a different way shows the trend in each type category for the 3 year period 2002 – 2004.

All in all, the Texel breed has made strong progress and in time the improved ram lamb results should translate into a similar pattern for stock breeding males. It is worth noting that the improvement in combined Type 1 and Type 2 figures (28 percentage points from 2002 to 2004) out-performs the all-breed average over the same period (14% point increase).

Why should you join?

To get FREE

• Electronic identification device for each eligible sheep
• Blood sampling and scrapie genotyping
• NSP Genotype Certificates
• Breeding advice
• And a foot on the ladder towards scrapie resistance, especially important with the advent of the new Flock Register initiative

Existing voluntary schemes and initiatives include:

• Ram Genotyping Scheme for Purebred flocks (RGS)
• Semen Genotyping
• Semen Archive
• Welsh Ewe Genotyping Scheme II (WEGSII) in Wales
• Voluntary Scrapie Flocks Scheme (VSFS) until 31 March 2005

For more information contact the NSP Helpline on

0845 601 4858

(Calls charged at local rates)

Website: www.defra.gov.uk/nsp