The standing of the British pedigree industry in Europe has again been recognised with the election of British Limousin Cattle Society Chairman, Aled Edwards, to the position of European Limousin President.

Aled Edwards,
European Limousin President.

Mr. Edwards from Home Farm, Cilycwm, Llandovery was unanimously elected by the eleven member countries present at the Annual General Meeting of EUROLIM, the federation of Limousin Herd Books within the European Union, held in Paris during the recent Paris Agricultural Show. He replaces Beppe Pantaleoni from Piacenza, Italy, who retired after six years in office.

Since EUROLIM’s formation in 1989, this is the first time that a British breeder has been elected as its President. Commenting on the election, William Cowx, the British Limousin Cattle Society’s President said; “This is a great honour for the BLCS and its members and of course for Aled himself. I think this election is recognition of the ongoing success and standing of the breed in the UK as well as the abilities Aled will undoubtedly bring to this position.” Limousin cattle populations are established in over seventy countries in the world but it is only within the UK where Limousin is officially the leading numerical breed.

In his opening address as President, Mr. Edwards was clear in identifying the priorities and opportunities that lay ahead for EUROLIM and the Limousin breed. He said: “As Europe grows, the role of EUROLIM must be to promote and expand the breed into new markets and to be fully inclusive of accession countries who require stock, breeding and performance knowledge to establish their respective herdbooks. In fast developing Eastern European markets, the world attributes of the Limousin as the Carcase Breed and easy care breeding female are driving a tremendous demand for the breed. It is EUROLIM’s role to embrace these countries and help them take the next step.” In September of this year Mr. Edwards will lead a EUROLIM delegation to the Polagra Expo in Poznan, Poland where a seminar will be held to outline the work of EUROLIM.

Since its inception, EUROLIM has adopted a body of internal rules and regulations for transparency and trading quality among European countries. A single European passport for registered animals and the EUROLIM seal of approval, guarantees not only the origin but also zootechnical information about animal performances. Its stated objectives include:

• to encourage the promotion and expansion of the Limousin breed in the EU
  
  
• to improve the genetics of the Limousin breed within the EU
  
  
• to harmonise selection working methods and exchange research works and information
  
  
• to make it easier for each of the associations to apply EU Directives

Following the EUROLIM AGM, the Board consists of the President Aled Edwards (Italy), the Vice Presidents Bernard Roux (France) and Lol Schintgen (Luxembourg), and the Secretary Sébastien Stamane (France).

Aled Edwards was elected as Chairman of the British Limousin Cattle Society in 2004. Along with his father David and mother Joan, they run the prolific Dyfri pedigree Limousin herd which comprises of 100 breeding females.

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