"FIB" or "Purebred" Highlands
Or both! Some breeders prefer one or other other, and some breeders don’t care about the distinction and have both in their folds. This can be both a confusing and sometimes controversial topic. Some breeders, who may have been breeding for some time, still do not fully understand the terms and may inadvertently portray their animals incorrectly.
When all is said and done, it doesn’t matter a great deal to most breeders, as long as you are happy with the Highland cattle that you have – their breed character, structure, size, temperament, colour etc. Although we were confused and misguided when we started in the breed, we believe that more people lose out by choosing poor quality Highlands at their first purchase, than are disadvantaged by mixing up FIB (“Fully Imported Bloodlines”) and “purebred” animals.
Definitions
| FIB (“Fullblood”) |
Highland cattle that descend only from ‘fully imported bloodlines‘ (“Fullblood” being the old term for this) and whose pedigrees can be traced back to the UK, Canadian or USA herdbooks (ie countries that do not allow intentional grading-up from other breeds of cattle). These FIB animals can potentially be registered in the UK herdbook. |
| ‘Purebred’ | Highland cattle, fourth generation or higher, who knowingly have another breed in their pedigrees somewhere, or who have unknown parentage declared in their ancestry. |
| ‘Graded’ | Highland cattle who are first (C-grade), second (B-grade) or third (A-grade) crosses, that have been bred up from another breed or an unregistered animal. |
| ‘Old Cattle’ | Descendents of the Highland cattle imported to Australia in the mid-1950’s. These animals were bred with for many generations but never had records kept and were not registered in any herd book. |
As noted in The History of Highland Cattle in Australia there were also a number of live animals and semen from numerous bulls brought into Australia, that were registered in other countries (eg United Kingdom, Canada, and USA) that did not allow intentional grading-up from other breeds. The pedigrees of such animals do not knowingly have any other breeds anywhere in them and can be traced back to the original animals registered in their country of origin, and usually back to the original animals registered in Scotland over a century ago. These animals, from fully imported bloodlines, have been termed FIB.
The Australian Highland Cattle Society, when first formed, decided that it would be quicker, and cheaper, for breeders to establish the breed in greater numbers by allowing animals to be bred-up from another cattle breed. This means that you could actually start with another dairy or beef breed (eg Shorthorn, Angus, Jersey) and use a registered Highland bull over them to achieve a first cross female that could then be put back to another registered Highland bull. This process was called grading-up and once the progeny reached fourth cross (fifth cross for a bull), they could be termed ‘purebred’.
Question – If a first cross Highland is 50% Highland, how many generations do we have to breed to get 90%, 99% or indeed 99.9% Highland? (Assuming you use a FIB bull every time – ie one with 100% Highland genetics.)
| 1st cross | 1/2 Highland | 50% Highland | C-grade |
| 2nd cross | 3/4 Highland | 75% Highland | B-grade |
| 3rd cross | 7/8 Highland | 87.5% Highland | A-grade |
| 4th cross | 15/16 Highland | 94.8% Highland | purebred |
| 5th cross | 31/32 Highland | 96.9% Highland | purebred |
| 6th cross | 63/64 Highland | 98.5% Highland | purebred |
| 7th cross | 127/128 Highland | 99.2% Highland | purebred |
| 8th cross | 255/256 Highland | 99.6% Highland | purebred |
| 9th cross | 511/512 Highland | 99.8% Highland | purebred |
| 10th cross | 1023/1024 Highland | 99.9% Highland | purebred |
| etc |
So to be 90% Highland, you need to have a fourth cross animal. To be 99% Highland, you need to have a 7th cross animal. To have 99.9% Highland genetics you need to have a 10th cross animal.
If you cross a FIB with a FIB, the progeny will always be termed FIB. If you cross a FIB with a purebred animal, the offspring will always be purebred, because on one side of the pedigree you will not be able to trace their lineage back to the UK Herd Book or a country where their society does not knowingly allow grading-up from other breeds.
FIB or Purebred – Distinguishing on Pedigrees
To assist with members being able to distinguish FIB from Purebred Highlands, the AHCS online database has included a field called “Grade:”, to which is assigned the following letters:
* F for FIB (Highlands of Fully Imported Bloodlines)
* C for Grade-C (first cross Highland females)
* B for Grade-B (second cross Highland females)
* A for Grade-A (third cross Highland females)
* P for Purebred (fourth cross and greater Highlands)
So, How can you pick a FIB from a Purebred Highland
On visual inspection alone, we defy anyone to consistently pick a FIB from a ‘purebred’ Highland animal on appearance – the difference is really only in the pedigree.
To see how to tell the difference “on paper” CLICK HERE to view this post.
Having said this, we personally believe in the long tradition of this majestic, ancient breed and want to keep our lines as FIB and linked back to the original Scottish herdbook that began in 1885. Indeed, Australian FIB cattle can potentially be registered in the UK herdbook (and some have been). Some other breeders do not care to differentiate between FIB and purebred animals, so long as they appear to be a good representative of the breed. This is personal opinion and certainly makes no difference to registering or showing animals.
The Current Situation with the Australian Highland Cattle Society:
In 2016, the Australian Highland Cattle Society responded to a vote by the membership to reintroduce the distinction between FIB & Purebred Highlands in the herdbook. When the society was first formed, there was a differentiation on the pedigrees (a ‘P’ was assigned to purebred animals and an ‘F’ assigned to FIB animals) and this could be seen in the first herdbook that came out in November 1995. A subsequent AHCS committee decided to remove thi terminology a few years later.
The definition of FIB
This was chosen by the Australian HCS to align with the American HCA herdbook regulations –
All ancestors in the animal’s pedigree can be traced back to an approved overseas Highland Society Herdbook and the pedigree does not contain any of the following;
1. Appendix animals from the UK Herdbook born after 1 st January 1994, or
2. Appendix animals from any Herdbook that allows grading up from other cattle breeds (Australia or New Zealand).
The UK Appendix System
As you can see from the above definition, the UK Highland Cattle Society has an Appendix system in their herdbook whereby “true Highland-type” females could re-enter the herdbook after being physically inspected. This was started in the 1970’s when the UK society thought that the overall number of Highlands was dwindling and they didn’t want to loose these females (who were supposedly bred to Highland bulls for decades, but were never registered). This did, however, create an incongruity for the registration rules for most countries & breeders who did not want to register animals whose pedigrees could not be traced back to animals in the original 1885 Highland herdbook (USA, Canada, some Australian & New Zealand breeders, most European countries). As a result, a line in the sand was drawn by the American HCA & the date at which no further Appendix animals would be accepted in pedigrees was 1-1-94.
Grading Up Highlands in Australia (from other breeds of cattle)
This was the mainstay of the breed when the society started up, accounting for 90% of the animals registered. Now, with live animal imports early on, and embryo transfer especially, FIB bloodlines account for well over half of the registrations each year. While the grading up system was halted a decade ago, in 2022 the Australian HCS also decided to allow “true Highland-type” females back into their herdbook as “C-Grade” animals – these animals need to look like Highlands. They had to be inspected via a written submission and photos.
We feel that discerning between purebreds and FIB helps to allay any confusion on the matter for new members and some existing members, and may help with recognition of at least part of the herdbook with overseas Highland Cattle societies. New Zealand has adopted such a system and while the exact definition of a FIB will always be cause for debate, their open recognition would be a simple and useful step for the society. Other than recognising this difference in pedigrees, there is no overwhelming reason to separate these animals. All females, FIB or purebred, can be registered in Australia and can be shown.