different breed standard points. A difficult or vicious disposition (tranquilising is forbidden). Any obvious physical malformation. The French Limousin breed standard is applied by international breed associations in slightly different forms. These range from mandatory compliance before an animal can be recorded in a country's herd book (mainly European countries) to voluntary application in others. For example, in Belgium, application of its breed standard mirrors in most detail the French use, and in the UK, compliance with its version of the Limousin breed standard is required by the UK breed association's bye-laws. The USA, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand breed associations do not define a breed standard in their regulations, and application of any standard is voluntary. The only requirement for registration as a Fullblood in both North American herd book registers is that ancestors should have "full French ancestry", or trace directly to the "Herd Book Limousin in France". In Australia and New Zealand the French Pure herd book classification requires that animals carry "100% Pure French genetics". USA, Australian and New Zealand breed association regulations also allow graded up animals to be registered in their herd books as purebreds without a requirement to comply with a minimum French Limousin content. Grading up using these purebreds over base or lower grade animals has resulted in the gradual reduction in the French Limousin content of some purebreds, and an observable divergence from the French breed standard. The Canadian breed association by regulation prevents loss of French Limousin content from its registered purebreds by requiring that they "contain 90% or more Limousin blood". In the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, breed development and selection is influenced principally by performance recording and genetic selection. French performance recording and genetic prediction The breed standard in France is applied in parallel to an intensively applied system of selection, performance recording and genetic prediction that was established gradually across the country commencing in the 1980s. The system appears to be similar to that used in Denmark. All females recorded in the French Herd Book are controlled under this system, which focuses mainly on maternal qualities derived from measurements of calving ease, and growth and structure of calves. Females that achieve the best indexes for particular traits are then examined in detail by HBL technicians who assign grades based on morphology. The best females receive the qualification Reproductive Recognised (in French Reproductrice Reconnue, abbreviated to