Semen Collection

If you’d like to arrange for us to collect semen from your bull or you have any questions, give us a call for a chat with no obligation.

Liz Harvey

Liz Harvey

Administration Manager

Why collect semen from your bull?

  • Protect your asset against injury or disease by preserving your bull’s genetics
  • Allow safe use of his genetics with Artificial Insemination
  • Ensure you have his genetics available beyond his lifetime
  • Create a product that can be sold to other breeders, domestically or internationally

Contact Liz about Semen collection

Which method of collection is most suitable for your bull?

On stud collection

  • All semen collected on our main stud technically qualifies for use in the EU, however some EU countries require further tests
  • Additionally, semen can potentially be qualified for export to any other country in the world that has a current trading protocol in place with the UK
  • Semen is collected on a weekly basis by our onsite team.
  • Large numbers of straws can be collected without the inconvenience of repeat visits to your farm
  • Semen can be sent to an external testing centre to be sexed for either male or female skew in partnership with IntelliGen

    This service is not available for:
  • IBR positive bulls - This includes bulls that have been vaccinated, with both conventional or marker vaccines
  • Bulls that have been present on a premise that has been under TB restriction

On farm collection

  • All semen collected on your farm can be sold domestically within England, Scotland and Wales but it cannot be exported (including to Northern Ireland)
  • Semen can be collected on your farm anywhere in the country by one of our highly experienced technicians or vets
  • Perfect for collection of lower numbers of straws for insuring your bull’s genetics

    This service is not available for
  • Bulls on premises that are currently under TB restriction.

As part of the testing for both of the options, the bull will have a TB check. This must be conducted at least 60 days after the previous test.

How does it work?

The process for collecting semen from you bull is straightforward.  The initial part is the same for both on stud and on farm collections:

  1. Contact our bull stud on 01803 863560 or email [email protected]
  2. You will be sent an information pack about your preferred collection method and the full details of the tests involved
  3. Complete a short questionnaire about yours and your bull’s details and send it back to us
  4. We will complete an Animal & Plant Health Agency (APHA) application on your behalf
  5. The APHA review the application and then contact yourselves and your chosen vet practice for a date to test your bull. DO NOT START ANY HEALTH TESTS UNTIL YOU HEAR FROM APHA
  6. Your vet will come to your farm take bloods from your bull, conduct a TB test and then send them to an APHA verified laboratory for testing
  7. When the results are back, your vet will send them to the APHA who will check them.
  8. The APHA will then
    1. For on farm bulls - issue a licence
      - We will then forward details on to your nearest collector who will contact you and arrange a visit
    2. For on stud bulls - will give the authority to transport the bull to our facility in Devon.
      - Once permission has been granted, contact our team and we will arrange a time and date with you to receive your bull

More information

Our Bull Stud

Our stud is located at Venton, Dartington near Totnes in south Devon and is fully licensed for both domestic and export semen collection. We have specially designed pens for 36 bulls plus a quarantine unit for bulls arriving at stud. The day-to day management and welfare of the bulls is overseen by Yard Manager Kevin Summers and his team.

The bulls will be worked on a regular basis and the semen will be collected using an artificial vagina and then processed by our laboratory team.

Contact our Bull Stud

Laboratory

Whether collected at the stud or on-farm, semen is processed at Venton using state of the art equipment sourced from the world’s leading suppliers, including a Computer Assisted Semen Analyser (CASA), an automated straw filling and printing machine and a digital freezing device. All samples are processed in accordance with a tightly controlled quality management system by our specialist team, who have all been trained to the highest standards within our set training programme. Leading the laboratory team is our lab manager Charlotte Heavisides.

Veterinary supervision

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Exports

To have semen available for export, it must be collected and processed at an EU-approved facility such as UK Sires’ Venton Stud.

All semen collected on our main stud technically qualifies for use in the EU, however some EU countries require further tests. Additionally, semen can be qualified for export to any other country in the world that has a current trading protocol in place with the UK. If you have any specific export requirements, please contact Hannah Smith on 01458 555551 or email [email protected] for further advice.

To be able to export the semen or use it for pedigree breeding it is essential that your bull has been parent verified - this means both the bull’s sire and dam have been DNA tested. Bulls that come to stud must also be registered with the relevant Herdbook (we need a copy of the registration certificate to apply for an AI code).