American Angus sire, CA Future Direction 5321, is most likely a carrier of a gene that can cause malformed and still born calves, the NSW Department of Primary Industries announced today.
DPI veterinarian Dr Laurence Denholm confirmed that evidence suggested the popular AI sire – which has more than 10,000 progeny in Australia – is probably a carrier of the gene for Curly Calf Syndrome.
Curly Calf Syndrome, thought to be caused by a simple recessive gene, can be traced back to known carrier GAR Precision 1680 (the sire of Future Direction), which has several hundred progeny in Australia.
The discovery means that a potential 50pc of 10,000 Future Direction calves could be carriers of the gene.
* For a full report on the development of a DNA test for Curly Calf Syndrome, see Stock & Land, October 16 edition.
Email a friend