Driven by legal advice and industry requirements, the ACV elected to develop the BBSE process to provide a description of risk, rather than reporting an overall result for the bull. Therefore the BBSE process was divided into five fertility categories, with results for each individual category reported on the certificate. The results provide information on whether the minimum standards for each category were assessed, or met, but the bull is not given an overall Pass/Fail classification.
The bull fertility categories are Scrotum, Physical, Crush‐Side Semen, Sperm Morphology, and Serving and are shown on the certificate in Figure 7.2.
Figure 7.2 An example of the BBSE report from the Australian system. The certificate includes the identity of the client and place of examination; bull ID, breed, and age; an area for summary of the veterinary interpretation for each aspect of the examination; a signed statement by the veterinarian that the procedures outlined in the ACV BBSE manual have been followed; and a signed statement by the vendor that there has been no surgical or medical intervention. Multi‐bull report formats are also available.
Source: From AVA, BBSE report from the Australian system, © Australian Veterinary Association Ltd.
The SC is reported in centimeters. The results for all other categories are reported as either a T (Tick), Q (Qualified), X (Cross), or NT (Not Tested). As with the SFT system, the option to report a category as “Q” is chosen if aberrations deemed to be treatable are encountered. Professional, standardized, easy‐to‐read reports are produced electronically. There are no booklet recording options, but the veterinarian can print out customized field recording sheets for each job once the client and job details have been entered into the database. There is also the option for electronic data entry if the animal handling facility is suitable.
A compulsory database must be collected for all BBSEs, but, informed by veterinary advice, the client can select additional categories they wish to have included in the evaluation to suit their specific purposes (Figure 7.3). In this context, breed societies can select additional parameters they wish to have evaluated for bulls in their respective stud sales with the knowledge that the outcome of that evaluation will be reflected in the result shown in the respective fertility category.
Figure 7.3 An example of BBSE data collection options provided by BullCheck software as used by veterinarians accredited in the BullCheck accreditation program managed by the ACV.
Source: Used with permission from ACV, Australia.
If owners or veterinarians choose to truncate the evaluation procedure, that is possible. But the certificate clearly shows a potential purchaser the testing procedures that are available and which ones were performed. The bull owner or their agent is required to sign the certificate to affirm that bulls have not undergone procedures to rectify faults that may have otherwise caused them to fail the standards. The veterinarian is required to sign the form to confirm the evaluation was in accordance with ACV standards.
An important feature of this approach is that the veterinarian is not required to make an overall judgment of whether the bull has normal capacity to sire calves under natural mating management. Instead, the veterinarian assesses each category to determine if standards are met and the client receives a report informing them of whether it meets the individual category standards. This report, with adequate room for veterinary comments, allows clients or potential purchasers to make an informed decision on how to proceed with the bull.
With the current software iteration called BullCheck, there is seamless integration with morphology software, which allows the veterinarian to either perform their own morphological assessments or follow the ACV recommendation and export the bull data to a dedicated morphology laboratory that will receive the fixed semen samples and import the results back into the BullCheck program for assimilation into the report. To assist with reducing ambiguity in the process, the back page of the report (Figure 7.4) explains in plain language the symbols used on the report, the limitations of the evaluation, and qualifiers to the interpretations.
Figure 7.4 As with the South African system, Australian BBSE reports have a back‐page description explaining the process, report symbols, and limitations and qualifiers to the process.
Source: From AVA, The South African system, Australian BBSE reports, © Australian Veterinary Association Ltd.
The Australian system differs to that of other regions with the requirement for veterinarians using this system to become accredited with the ACV. The goal of the accreditation system is to ensure consistency in data collection, interpretation, and reporting. While the process requires effort for both ACV administration and veterinarians wishing to become accredited, the primary goal is anecdotally being achieved. An added benefit is that accredited veterinarians may be securing a market advantage as breeders and breed societies realize the advantages of a well‐regulated process. The summary of this system is that veterinarians must demonstrate meeting a threshold of BBSE experience or attend an ACV BBSE training day; they must demonstrate having suitable equipment to perform the procedures, including having a binocular microscope with warm stage, a portable incubator or slide warmer, and a computer loaded with a current version of the BullCheck software; and they must pass an open‐book, online examination. Accredited veterinarians must agree to be in a trace‐back system so that disputes can be investigated, and currently in development is a process for accreditation maintenance.
The ACV also temporarily ran an accreditation program for sperm morphologists. This process initiated the development of standardized procedures and quality assurance programs surrounding morphology assessment and reporting. However, the accreditation program had to be abandoned as the ACV did not have effective regulatory authority over non‐veterinarians performing the work, meaning they could not follow through with proposed trace‐back programs. Currently the ACV provides endorsement for morphologists who have agreed to meet the required laboratory standards.
Canada
In Canada, there have been two systems utilized for BBSE [16]. Some practitioners follow the American SFT guidelines described previously, while the Western Canadian Association of Bovine Practitioners (WCABP) has produced its own guidelines and forms. The WCABP BBSE process is similar to the SFT guidelines except for varied thresholds for SC, morphologically normal sperm, and sperm motility
[16].
In contrast to the SFT system, the WCABP system considers breed and age when setting the SC threshold. In the SFT system, the lower SC threshold is the same (30 cm) for bulls of any Bos taurus breed between 12 and 15 months of age [10]. However, in the 2018 version
