DENMARK 1997
3rd World Afghan Congress Report #7
FROZEN SEMEN - advantages, disadvantages, methods, ethics and technique.
Wendye Slatyer (AUSTRALIA) Page1

Introduction and background.

Firstly, I would like to make it very clear that I am not a veterinarian and I realise there may well be people here who have a much greater depth of knowledge as to the technicalities of this subject than I do. I am speaking today because our kennels pio neered this field in 1976, so we have been involved with canine frozen semen literally since its beginning, with our latest success only last month. We were fortunate to live in Australia, the country to first recognise this invaluable breeder's tool and to encourage its extensive utilisation.

If there are some specific technical aspects which I do not cover to your satisfaction, then hopefully some veterinary experts who are present here today can answer them for you from the floor.

I also apologise for using some of our own dogs' names. There is no intention to promote our own kennels through this Congress, but some details are essential if parts of this discussion are to make sense.

So to some BACKGROUND

The first time in the world puppies obtained from AI by frozen semen were registered with a Canine Controlling Body was in 1976 when a litter of four was born at our Calahorra Kennels, from semen we imported from England to Australia.

We did this because at that time Australia was closed to live dog importation due to a rabies scare in England, and dogs from any other part of the world had to go there first for a period of twelve months before continuing their quarantine in Australia. Should the ban not be lifted, it was vitally important to find a method of ensuring that bloodlines could continue to come in to Australia. Hearing that some puppies had been produced under clinical conditions by frozen semen at Cambridge University, we d ecided, with the help of two famous veterinarians, Dr Harry Spira of Australia, and Dr David Morton, then at Cambridge University, now in Leicester, to ensure this became a reality. We selected Ann and Jenny Dove's English and Irish Champion Saringa's Abra Cadabra, as his bloodlines tied in very well with those already long established in our breeding programme, we had seen him on a recent trip, and considered him an excellent repres entative of our interpretation of the Afghan Hound.

Of course we were not the only people concerned by the ban, so semen for some other breeds came in the same canister and our litter was closely followed by Golden Retriever puppies and then a long time later a single Old English was born, with subsequently a few other successes in various breeds.

That was how it all began and now the whole world is involved.

Until recently in Australia, semen could only be imported from dogs resident in the UK, now it can come from almost everywhere. Considering our quarantine expenses, this has turned the Australian dog scene upside down, especially in rare breeds, and overa ll the successful development of artificial insemination from frozen semen has been a wonderful tool for breeders.

HOWEVER, MANY PEOPLE STILL ASK - "WHY USE FROZEN SEMEN?" What are the advantages, what are the disadvantages? How is it done? What ethics are involved?

So let us first look at the ADVANTAGES, which in our opinion far outweigh any disadvantages.There are many major reasons for utilising this technology and more are emerging as the success rate inreases and more breeders decide to incorporate it as a regul ar tool in their breeding programmes.

The primary most obvious one is being able to source what you consider the most suitable material for your breeding programme from almost anywhere in the world. You may choose him because he is very famous, or you may come across him sitting in someone's backyard, virtually unknown but ideally suiting your specific purpose. The greatest advantage lies in being able to directly access that SIRE himself, rather than having to buy a son, hoping that he comes up to expectations. Even if he does, he is STILL o ne generation further removed from the actual dog that interested you in the first place. Only very seldom is the selected dog himself for sale or, if so, affordable.

At the same time, using frozen semen makes it possible to overcome geographic isolation and avoid the many disadvantages associated with quarantine which of course are all too well known.

Matings that could otherwise never occur can now take place. Properly used, therefore, its value is inestimable.

For example in the past twelve months I have had the pleasure of judging what I consider to be two outstanding Afghan Hound males, and immediately decided that I wished to incorporate both of these top winning, stud dogs into our lines. Both are bred-in- the-purple and pedigree-compatible with what we have been breeding for years.Without frozen semen, there is no way it would be possible.

One was in America, the other an American import in Italy. One carried the same Old American and Old Scandinavian lines with which we have worked for years, inclduing many of the famous individuals, the other is less directly related but rather through f amily lines with the same phenotype and genotype we work with consistently. Having seen many of the direct forebears of both these dogs in the flesh, we feel they will tie in perfectly with our own blends of some of the world's greatest bloodlines. We immediately arranged to import semen from the dog in America and one black masked silver bitch puppy was born a week after I left Australia, and as you can imagine, I can't wait to get home to see her.

To my delight the owners of the dog I loved this trip are also happy to provide semen, thus enabling the perpetuation of his gene pool in far off Australia, via bitches who could otherwise never be mated to him. We have already collected from him and hope to obtain puppies before the end of the year.

Wendye Slatyer July 97
Copyright(c) 1997

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