In his first public comment on the artificial insemination litigation, Arrowfield Stud’s John Messara stated the consequences of the introduction of AI would be different to those which are contemplated by its proponent Bruce McHugh.

Messara maintains rather than creating more competition, it would concentrate stallion power in the hands of the few farms who control the proven stallions at the top of the list.

“To date, conception by natural means has placed a lid on the number of mares each stallion can serve but if that lid is lifted through AI the consequences could be dire for the industry.  With breeders flocking to proven horses, huge numbers of mares would be inseminated by a small number of the most commercially desirable stallions and in this way there would be less competition rather than more competition amongst stallion owners,” Messara said.

“So while the stallion fees might reduce to accommodate the much larger books, the revenue of the big farms would increase substantially and that would lead to bigger profits, increased concentration of industry power and reduction of competition.

“Then you have the impact on the gene pool.  The few thousand mares that comprise the active band in Australia will be served by a handful of stallions; logic dictates that AI would be harmful to the diversity of the breed.

“Of course, if AI were ever to be introduced into thoroughbreds in Australia, horses produced by means of AI and their progeny would not be regarded as thoroughbreds in other parts of the world and would not be able to compete internationally and would therefore be useless for breeding purposes internationally as well.  This has the capacity to destroy the commercial viability of the thoroughbred industry in our country.

“AI is not without its advantages in reducing the transmission of disease and assisting sub-fertile breeding stock, but the disadvantages far outweigh the possible benefits and I believe it would be lunacy to introduce AI into Australia.”