Ram Semen requested for overseas scientific trials

Semen and embryos are frequently traded internationally as breeders seek to improve certain aspects of their flocks and herds.  What is unusual in this case is that this has been a request for semen from a ram that had a high degree of resistance to internal parasite challenges.  Obviously these people sought the best semen available for this trait.  This sire is a 7 year old – Kikitangeo G197-14 bred by Gordon Levet.   The ram was sold earlier this year to Richard Brown of Feilding at the dispersal sale of the Kikitangeo Romney stud.
 
There have been two requests for semen.  The first about a year ago from a scientist from Nepal who was keen to conduct trials.  This however failed to eventuate because of transport difficulties due to Covid-19.   More recently the second request was for embryos as well as semen came from a chap In Austria.  He is part of a group of ram breeders from several EU countries that had been breeding a specialized white faced meat breed over a period of sixty years.  He is also working with a Dr Henney of the Veterinary University of Vienna, who was keen to conduct trials with progeny of this sire.
 
Gordon commented that he found it rather ironic that foreign scientists were keen to conduct trials that have never happened here, but was hopeful that this situation would be rectified. Gordon added that there were several significant aspects to the interest shown by other countries.  One was revealed by the Austrian contact.  This chap, Andreas Kettl, stated that “the killer worm was an increasing problem in Europe".  This killer worm could only be Haemoncus contortus or the Barber’s Pole worm, usually common in warmer regions.  However, several years ago when Dr McEwan, Invermay and Dr Hickford,  Lincoln attended an international conference of geneticists and parasitologists in Edmonton, Canada – both expressed amazement that this blood sucking worm was creating problems in Scotland, Canada and Europe including the Scandinavian countries.  Obviously it has adapted to these colder conditions.  Australian scientists have found different sub-species of Haemoncus in different  environments,  some more lethal than others.
 
Gordon has also stated that it was significant that a ram breeder in Europe, who has spent many decades breeding a specialized meat breed was prepared to compromise their breeding programme by introducing geneticists they considered essential.
 
He believes that NZ already has a head start in these genetics and this needs to be exploited  to our economic advantage.   The aim should be to have more ram breeding flocks, in maternal breeds, breeding for the resistant trait.  The ultimate aim he says should be to have a national flock that has a reasonable resistance to worm challenges, with minimal drenching.  This can now be achieved if this course is generally accepted.  The wide use of AI could result in meaningful progress being made in the next decade.  Although making progress in 34 years with most lambs not needing a drench, Gordon says that other ram breeders needed to continue on the same course to ensure the genes responsible for worm resistance become more reliable and dominant.  He has estimated that this would take several more sheep generations,  or about a decade.
 
Sadly, he says, the bigger ram breeders who sell many hundreds of rams annually, with the exception of Forbes and Angus Cameron, have been AWOL when it comes to this phase of the war to control these parasites.  We need them on board to help with this problem.
 
If my hopes and dreams can be achieved, it would be a big benefit for sheep, farmers and the New Zealand economy.
 
Gordon Levet
October 2021