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Second evaluation "Bewust Natuurlijk Luxe" project completed
The goal of having 50-60% of double-muscled cattle give birth naturally – without a Caesarean section – by 2035 is not feasible. However, a small number of breeders show that a similar percentage of their herd already calves naturally.
In 2014, 85-90% of the Belgian Blue and Dutch Improved red-and-white breeds required a Caesarean section to give birth. Because of societal concerns about animal welfare, breeding organisations for both breeds made a plan to significantly reduce the number of Caesarean sections. The key objective of the plan was to breed a type of double-muscled cow that has a birth canal that has room to give birth naturally. This plan was facilitated by the “Bewust Natuurlijke Luxe” (BNL) project between 2015 and 2023 which was led by LTO Noord.
A shift in mentality
“Breeding organisations make breeding policy, but individual breeders make the decisions,” says Jan ten Napel, researcher at the Animal Breeding and Genomics group (ABG), “which means that it is important that there is sufficient support among breeders for the new breeding policy.” However, this desired change requires a shift in the mentality of the breeders; interviews showed that, although the breeders’ way of thinking is definitely shifting, a collective behavioural shift is not yet visible.
Breeding values for pelvic size
Between 2019 and 2023, cows from 258 breeders were subjected to an internal pelvic measurement (9.800 measurements in total). These records were used by CRV to estimate and publish breeding values. Breeders were very positive about the measurement programme and the insights that were gained as a result. However, for the Belgian Blue the information was hardly used for selecting bulls; only the bulls that inherit a very narrow pelvis were used less frequently. For the Dutch Improved red-and-white breed, the bulls that inherit wide or very wide pelvises were notably used more frequently. Consequently, this breed shows a small improvement regarding the internal pelvic opening of the animals.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, it became apparent that the BNL project had lost its lustre; only the measurement programme continued, but the number of breeders participating in the programme declined. In 2023, only 30-40% of the breeders had the internal pelvic size of their animals measured, which corresponds to 10-15% of the animal population. The expected percentage of natural births in 2035 for both breeds is now 32% at the most. To achieve this percentage, researchers from ABG advise the breeding organisations to provide breeders with specific feedback on their breeding decisions, as well as provide information about prevalence of natural calving.