HORN LEVY IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

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Dehorn your calves. Horn levy in BC is now $10 per head www.cattlefund.net 250/573-3611

A $10 per head levy is charged when producers sell cattle with horns in British Columbia.

The Cattle Horned Act uses a levy to encourage the dehorning of cattle in order to reduce economic impacts of injuries caused by animals with horns.  Originally the levy was set at $2 per head and remained that way for more than sixty years until votes by provincial cattle organizations recommended that the levy be increased and that it be a levy under the Farming and Fishing Industries Development Act administered by the Cattle Industry Development Council.

On September 1, 2005 the levy was increased to $10 per head f
ollowing an extensive education and promotion campaign to make
producers aware of the increase.

Definition of a Horn

For purposes of the Horn Levy, horn means visible, non-tampered horn, or tampered horn greater than two inches in length, except for horns on registered purebred cattle when sold (purebred registration documentation to be provided to inspector).

The Horn Levy Committee

Cattle industry associations elect representatives to sit on the Horn Levy Committee. In addition to these elected representatives, one ex-officio member from the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands and one from Ownership Identification Inc. may attend committee meetings along with the Committee secretary. This committee reports to the Cattle Industry Development Council.

Roles and Responsibilities for Operation of the Horn Levy Fund

Cattle Industry Development Council will:  

1. receive and approve the business plan and annual reports from the Horn Fund Committee.
2. provide secretariat services for the fund.

Secretariat responsibilities will include:

• ensuring the decisions are recorded
• ensuring that the decisions are implemented
• ensuring that the deliverables are received
• financial reporting is carried out in a timely manner.

Horn Fund Committee

a) Committee Make Up:
Industry associations will be invited to elect representatives to serve on the Horn Fund Committee as follows:

BC Association of Cattle Feeders	one representative
BC Breeders and Feeders Association	one representative
BC Cattlemen’s Association	two representatives
BC Milk Producers’ Association	one representative

b) Exofficio
BC Ministry of Agriculture Food and Fisheries and OII Ownership Identification Inc., may send exofficio representatives to Horn Fund Committee meetings, and from time to time, others may be invited to do so as may be decided by the Committee.

 c) Officers
The Horn Fund Committee shall annually elect a chair and a vice-chair from amongst the representatives.

 d) Responsibilities

1. Promote dehorning of cattle for increased safety in the cattle industry and increased value of cattle in BC.
2. Establish and maintain policies, procedures and guidelines for the collection of the Horn Levy Fund.
3. Establish and maintain policies, procedures and guidelines for awarding funds from the Horn Levy Fund. Procedures include promotion of the funds, review of funding applications, awarding projects, tracking projects and evaluation of project results.
4. Prepare annual report for submission to the Cattle Industry Development Council.