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Notwithstanding the high quality of a particular
Rambouillet's or Suffolk's appearance and physical traits, that
sheep's lack of registration papers can dramatically reduce its
market value and the market value of its progeny for purebred
breeding purposes. Essentially, none of the governing national
sheep breed associations will register a sheep unless that
sheep's complete ancestral line can be traced back in the
association's breed registry to the time when that sheep breed
was established. In other words, all of that sheep's ancestors
must be registered sheep of that breed.
During the years relevant to these cases, the American
Rambouillet Sheep Breeders Association was the only generally
recognized national breed association with which purebred
Rambouillets could be registered. During those same years,
purebred Suffolks could be registered with either of two
generally recognized national breed associations, the American
Suffolk Sheep Society or the National Suffolk Association.
A qualified individual purebred sheep of any age can be
registered with one of the above three national breed
associations. However, the registration fee charged can be
higher for sheep that are over a specified age. During the
period relevant to these cases, none of these three associations
physically examined a sheep being registered with it, as such
examinations of individual sheep were not feasible given the
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