EUROPEAN REGULATIONS

In the Herdbook will appear only the animals that have a confirmation and have a proven descent. They will be admitted to the Herdbook at the moment of birth in the National Herdbook.

Article 1.

• To qualify for entry in the main section of the Blonde d’Aquitaine Herdbook an animal must:
• be descended from parents and grandparents entered in the Herdbook of the Blonde d’Aquitaine breed.
• be identified at birth according of the Herdbook of the Blonde d’Aquitaine breed.
• have a pedigree established in accordance with the rules of the Herdbook of the Blonde d’Aquitaine breed.

Article 2.

• The Main Section of the Blonde d’Aquitaine breed may be divided into several classes according to the animals’ merits. Only cattle meeting the criteria laid down in Article 1 may be entered in one of those classes.

Article 3.

• The breeders’ organization or association that is keeping the Blonde d’Aquitaine Herdbook, may decide that a female, which does not meet the criteria laid down in Article 1 (The Main Section), may be entered in the supplementary section of the Blonde d’Aquitaine Herdbook. The female must meet the following requirements:
• Be identified in accordance with the Herdbook rules,
• Be judged to conform to the Blonde d’Aquitaine Breed standard,
• Have a minimum performance criteria as laid down by the Blonde d’Aquitaine Herdbook rules
• The requirements mentioned in the second and third indents of paragraph 1 may be differentiated according to whether the female belongs to the Blonde d’Aquitaine breed although it has no known origin or was obtained from a crossing programme approved by the Blonde d’Aquitaine breeders’ organization or association managing the Blonde d’Aquitaine Herdbook.

Article 4.

• A female whose mother and maternal grandmother are entered in a supplementary section of the Blonde d’Aquitaine Herdbook as provided in Article 3 (1) and whose father and two grandfathers are entered in the main section of the Blonde d’Aquitaine Herdbook in accordance with the criteria laid down in Article 1, shall be regarded as pure-bred female and entered in the main section of the Blonde d’Aquitaine Herdbook, provided for in Article 1.

Article 5.

• Where a book contains several classes in the main section, an animal from another Member State shall be entered in the class of the book whose criteria it meets.

1. General Definitions:

Building a Blonde d’Aquitaine Herdbook.

• In the Herdbook are only those animals that are identified according the rules that are set by the Blonde d’Aquitaine Herdbook and by the rules provided in Article 1.
• The Blonde d’Aquitaine Herdbook contains two SECTIONS:
• The Main Section with all the full bred animals according the European Regulations for pure bred.
• The Supplementary Section with the animals with the phenotype of the Blonde d’Aquitaine breed but of which the origin and the length of the pedigree do not allow them to be placed in the Main Section.
• The main section of the Herdbook can create classes of merit for which there are rules precisely composed and which are accessible to all animals that can fulfil these criteria without any discrimination of breeders and animals.

2. Formulation and definitions according the European Regulation:

Pure Breed Breeder (PBB) = a registrated animal in the Main Section of the Herdbook.

• Inscription in the Main Section
• All the animals (male and female) from registered parents from the M.S. will be registered without any consideration.
• All females from:
• A male from the Main Section
• A female from the Supplementary Section that is issue from a male origin from the Main Section (2’ generation of cross-breed with a male from the Main Section)
• Inscription in the Supplementary Section
• Females (and males) with an initial title.
• A not confirmed animal (or a confirmed animal with at least one parent from a different breed) representing the phenotype of the Blonde d’Aquitaine breed and descending from a mating with a Pure Breed Reproduction from the Blonde d’Aquitaine Breed.
• Females (and males) with a title of male origin.
• An animal as product from a father from the Main Section and a registered mother from the Sub Section with an initial title or with a title of an other origin that presents as its mother a sufficient conformation of the racial standard for the Blonde d’Aquitaine breed.
• Females (and males) with a title of different origin.
• Animal issued from:
• A mother of the Main Section and a father from the Sub Section,
• A mother of the Sub Section and a father from the Sub Section.
• This only if the animal presents a sufficient confirmation of the racial standard for the Blonde d’Aquitaine breed.

In the situation that there are genes from a different breed are used, the following adaptations should be made.

• The animals issued from this cross-breeding and registered in the Sub Section should show more or less the racial standard for the Blonde d’Aquitaine breed with possible specific rules.
• The registration in the Main Section of females from a mother from the Sub Section, herself coming from strange origins, and a father from the Main Section, can not be in this specific case automatically, but it should be taken in consideration that the confirmation should be sufficient related to the standard for this female.

 3. Forming < classes of merit > for the sections (=racial qualities)

• They can be based on:
• Natural disposition (performance, index, …),
• Characteristics of phenotype or specific genotype (deflection or standard –example: excessively muscling, colour, etc…, presence or absence of a known or un-known gene with a favourite or un-favourite effect),
• Combination of the criteria…
• They have to be clearly defined and accessible without discrimination to animals of breeders that can hold these conditions.
• All registrated animals in the Main Section of the Blonde d’Aquitaine Herdbook will be affected in only one of the classes at any moment.
• It may be clear that the regulation can not foresee all; the classes can as well be defined for the Supplementary Section of the Blonde d’Aquitaine Herdbook.

4. Related remarks.

• The definition of a <standard> phenotype is specially created to integrate in the Supplementary Section the grandparents of the animals on an initial title and at the title of male origin or on title of different origin.
• It will not be too detailed for this subject, not exaggerate a specialised survey, because this can open a desirable opening of the Herdbook for all the population that possesses the genealogy over more generations.
• If there is severe requirement desired for the phenotype of some animals and an inspection by a specialised technician is necessary, this 2^nd level of the standard must take part of the criteria of acknowledgement of PBB of certain <classes> in the Main Section (=animal PBB, the confirmed standard and in possession of superior genetic characteristics).
• In no case this inspection can be a requirement for refusing the entrance in the Main Section for animals that will not have made this goal.
• For the registration in the Supplementary Section on initial title, the rough conformation to the essential standard of the Blonde d’Aquitaine breed can be completed  by the requirement of minimal performances, see other characteristics ( absence of genetic abnormalities …) such as translocation.
• The systematic registration of females in the Main Section on behalf of the grandparents in the Supplementary Section will always be affected by two successive female generations in the Supplementary Section mated with males from the Main Section. A supplementary generation is required for the registration of sons of these females in the Main Section.
• The male grandparents in the Supplementary Section are at least in the 3^rd generation for females and in the 4^th generation for males.
• In the case of infusion of the registrated genes of an other race, this means that for the registration of females in the Main Section, this females must have at least ¾, and the males should have at  least ⅞, and more if the genealogy has a male in the Supplementary Section.
• The moved or imported animals and their ascendants, that are registrated in one of the two Sections of a Blonde d’Aquitaine Herdbook that is registrated by a racial committee recognized by the EEC, must, -on title of inscription of the same kind-, be registrated in the corresponding section of the Herdbook, and be put in the class of merit for what their own characteristics allow them to be put in.