Luing Cattle Society Rules

LUING CATTLE SOCIETY LTD RULES, REGULATIONS & BYE-LAWS

MEMBERS

1. Applications for Membership must be notified to the Council.

2. The Annual Subscription will be fixed each year by the Council and will be payable on 1 January in each year. No Life Membership will be available. The subscription at present is £50 including VAT.

3. Only Members will be eligible to enter cattle in the Society's Herd Book or to sell cattle at a sale held under the auspices of the Society.

4. The Council will have the right to terminate the Membership of any person who does not abide by the Rules of the Society.

5 Any Member not paying his or her subscription within two months may, at the discretion of the Council, lose his or her rights as a Member.

6. The Society in General Meeting shall be entitled to elect any person to be an Honorary Member, but only on the recommendation of the Council.

OFFICE BEARERS AND COUNCIL

7. The Office Bearers of the Society shall consist of the Chairman, Vice Chairman, Immediate Past Chairman, and Secretary and Treasurer. The Offices of Secretary and Treasurer may be held by one person. The Secretary and Treasurer shall have no vote at Meetings of the Council.

8. The Council of the Society shall consist of the Chairman, Vice Chairman, Immediate Past Chairman and such other Members of the Society as may, on the recommendation of the Council, be elected at a General Meeting of the Society, up to a total maximum of fifteen.

9. Nominations for vacant places shall be submitted by the nominee by the require date, signed by both a proposer and seconder that are both paid up members of the Society.  Proposers and seconders can only propose or second one candidate for each election.  If there are more nominations than vacant places, a postal ballot will take place among the membership, and a formal appointment will be made at the AGM.

10. At each Annual General Meeting of the Society, the Members shall appoint the Office Bearers who shall hold office for two years.  Any elected Member of Council will serve a term of three year, or such other term as it necessary upon retiral of another member.  A retiring Member of Council shal lnot be eligible for re-election for a period of one year.  The maximum number of places on Council, including the Office Bearers is 15.

POWERS OF COUNCIL

11. The business of the Society shall be governed and conducted by the Council who shall have full power to manage and regulate the same, subject to the directions, if any, given at the Annual General Meeting. The Council shall have the power to appoint committees consisting of one or more of their number for any purpose which the Council thinks fit and may delegate to such committees any power it thinks fit.

12. No person shall be elected as an Office Bearer unless his/her appointment is recommended by the Council.

13. Any casual vacancy occurring in the Office Bearers or Council may be filled by the Council, and the Office Bearers so elected shall retire at the next Annual General Meeting but shall be eligible for re-election.

14. The Council shall meet on the summons of the Chairman or Secretary, at such places as may be considered most convenient, and as often as occasion shall require. Six members plus the Chairman or Vice-Chairman shall form a quorum.

15. The duties of the Council shall be to attend to the general and financial business of the Society, the election of Members and to deal with all matters concerning the Society, arising between the Annual General Meetings, not required by these Rules or by law to be carried out by a General Meeting. The Council shall also be responsible for the scrutiny of entries and for the publication of the Herd Book and shall have power from time to time to draw up Rules embodying the qualifications which animals must possess to entitle them to entry, and otherwise regulating the matters concerning the Herd Book.

16. A resolution in writing signed by all the Members of the Council for the time in the United Kingdom shall be as effectual as if it had been passed at a meeting of the Council duly convened and constituted.

17. The Council, by not less than a two-thirds majority, and with the approval of the Chairman, shall have the power to expel any Member for any cause which shall appear to the Meeting of the Council to require such action; it shall not be necessary for the Council to assign any reason for such expulsion, and all persons so expelled shall thereupon cease to be Members, and to have any interest in the Society or its concerns.

MEETINGS AND ACCOUNTS

18. The Annual General Meeting of the Society shall be held not later than 31st March in each year at which the audited Accounts for the year to the preceding 31st October will be submitted. Council Meetings shall be held at other periods of the year as may be agreed by the Council or in accordance with Clause 13 hereof.

HERD BOOK

19. Only Pedigree bred Luing Cattle shall be eligible for entry in the main Herd Book.

20. Females found, on inspection by representatives of the Council, to be of a Luing type and to be a minimum of 75% purebred Luing will be entered in Appendix 'B' of the Herd Book. Heifer calves by Luing Bulls from cows listed in Appendix 'B' will be eligible for entry in Appendix 'A' of the Herd Book. Heifer calves by Luing bulls from cows listed in Appendix 'A' will be accepted for full recognition in the main Herd Book. Bull calves can only be registered from pedigree registered cows, not from either Appendix 'A' or Appendix 'B' cows.

21. SimLuing registrations will be accepted from members of the Luing Cattle Society. To be eligible for entry into the Sim/Luing register, heifer calves must be out of Pedigree or Appendix A Luing females registered with the Luing Cattle Society and sired by a Simmental bull registered in the herd book of the British Simmental Cattle Society Ltd.

22. Each Herd Book year will end on 31st December. All members are encouraged to complete their Herd Census (Survey) within the Grassroots program by updating all deaths, culls and transfers timeously and by 31st December in each year.  Update of this information by electronic means will eliminate the need for paper transactions.

23. All calves born to breeding females within the herdbook need to be registered or birth notified b 28th February of the year following the year of birth.  All members are encouraged to register/birth notify all births electronically using the Grassroots database, as early as possible after birth.  Alternatively, a birthing summary form can be used to enter all calves born in each year.  These forms must be returned to the Secretary by 28th February of the year following the year of birth.  Pedigree certificates will be issued for all animals entered into the herd book (excluding Birth Notifications).  Current year calves must be registered ahead of sale, if they are to be traded ahead of the registration deadline.  A Herd book number preceded by: L indicates pedigree Luing bull P indicates pedigree Luing female A indicates Appendix A Luing female B indicates Appendix B Luing female C indicates registered Sim/Luing female (P) after the name indicates that the animal is naturally polled.

24. Annual registration fees are charged on a sliding scale based on the number of breeding females having had at least their first calf, regardless of age.  This includes both Pedigree Luing, and Appendix A & B females, held on Society records for each herd at the end of the year (31st December).  Breeding females are charged on a sliding scale based on the number of cows held on Society records for each herd at the end of the year. (This includes full pedigree and Appendix A & B cows).

1 - 25 cows in herd .............. £8.50 per cow

26 - 50 ............................... £8.00

51 - 100 ............................. £7.50

101 - 250 ............................ £7.00

250 plus .............................. £6.50 (plus VAT at standard rate on all Herd Book entries)

Any registrations received after 28th February will be charged double fees. Any animal over 2 years of age can only be considered for Appendix B.

25.  Where Sim/Luings only are registered, a maximum of £9.50 per heifer will be charged for up to 15 calves, 16 or more calves will be charged at £8.00 per heifer.

26.  All registrations and birth notifications received after the 28th February deadline will be charged double fees.  Any animal over 2 years of age can only be considered for Appendix B.  An appeal may be made to the Council for consideration in exceptional circumstances.

27. Transfers between herds will be subject to a fee structure as follows:

a. Females transferred between herds, traded on a private basis, will attract a charge per animal of £10 (+VAT).  Un-weaned calves will be transferred with their dams, inclusively.  Cost responsibility is that of the purchaser unless arranged otherwise between the vendor and purchaser.

b. Males transferred between herds, traded on a private basis will attract a charge per animal on a two tier system as follows:

• • purchasing herds with up to 30 cows will pay £2 + VAT per head, with a minimum fee of £25 + VAT.
  • purchasing herds with more than 30 cows will pay £100 + VAT per head.

c.  Animals purchased from Society sales will be transferred free of charge.

28.  The Herd Book shall be under the control of the Council who may regulate its form, the rules governing acceptance of entries, its time of issue and nature and form of contents.

29. The Council may exercise its power to delete an entry from the Herd Book if the Council has been satisfied by documentary and other evidence put before it that, for any reason, an animal has been wrongly entered.

IDENTIFICATION

30. A Department of Agriculture UK tag is the accepted identification for registration. In addition, each Herd may use a three letter Herd Designation plus a year letter (announced by the Society each year) and an individual number for management purposes.

31. The Council will take steps to ensure that all animals qualified for entry in the Herd Book are properly tagged, before they are entered therein. The Council shall each year consider the Regulations governing the registration of entries therein and shall cause the Regulations to be kept up-to-date and, if thought to be desirable, shall issue instructions to the Members and Breeders from time to time.

ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION 

32. The Council will accept cattle for entry in the Herd Book, bred by artificial insemination on viewing of the AI Certificate, or substantiated AI date in the case of DIY AI.

BULL INSPECTION

33. No bull can be sold at a Pedigree Luing Bull Sale until it has been inspected by an appointed Representative of the Society, and has been accepted as conforming to the standards as laid down by the Society. Breeders must apply to the Society for this inspection by 31st August each year. Late application will incur a penalty fee. Bulls will be inspected as soon as is reasonably possible and at that time the dam should be made available on a hard standing for classification.

34. Breeders are encouraged to present all bulls intended for pedigree use for inspection. When the bull passes inspection the name of the animal will be augmented with a symbol indicating that it has been approved by the Society; # for males.  When  adam has been classified her scores will be entered into the database and her name will be augmented with a symbol, indicating that she has been classified; * for females.

SALE OF CATTLE

35. The Society will, as the Council thinks necessary, hold Sales which will be run under the auspices of the Society. At the Annual Sale, run under the auspices of the Society, all bulls and heifers must be over 12 months of age and must pass inspection by representatives of the Society. Inspectors will reject any animal not reaching high standards of the breed in size, conformation, quality and presentation. Any animal with a black nose will be rejected. Bulls must measure a minimum height of 52 inches at the shoulder and have a minimum scrotal circumference measurement of 36cms for the years 2017 and 2018 - thereafter the minimum will be increased to 38 cms. The right of inspection by a Society representative at other Sales held under the auspices of the Society is reserved. Reference should be made to Sale Catalogues regarding warranties given with bulling and in-calf heifers and time limits for notification.

36.  The Society makes provision for advertising private sales of Luing cattle on its website and social media channels to whihc all members are entitled to put forward details for advertisement at no charge.  The Society reserves the right to not publish (or take down) any such advertisements during the 4 week period period prior to a Society sale.

SHOWS

37. The Society does not support showing but will encourage or hold demonstrations of Luing Cattle.

EXPORT 

38. The Society will charge £10.00 for an Export Certificate issued after an animal is purchased at a Society Sale and £20.00 if purchased privately. These charges are all subject to VAT at the standard rate.

ALTERATIONS OF RULES, REGULATIONS AND BYE-LAWS 

39. The Society shall have power at its Annual General Meeting or any adjournment thereof to enact, renew, alter or add to the foregoing Rules, Regulations and Bye-Laws but no change, either by way of addition or alteration, shall be made except with the approval of not less than two-thirds of the Members attending such meeting, and no motion having for its object the enacting, renewing, altering or adding to the foregoing Rules, Regulations and Bye-Laws shall be competent unless twenty-one days' previous notice in writing has been given to the Secretary who shall in the Notice calling the Meeting, intimate such motion.