all of the herd books of European Limousins. Limousins in different countries are bred according to different selection practices or objectives, and are connected by limited international gene flows. Poor genetic connectedness between countries has negative implications for estimation accuracies of international genetic prediction programmes. As a result of genetic drift or different selection, each country's population of Limousins is becoming genetically differentiated, but which is counterbalanced to a limited extent by gene flows from other countries. A study of over 2.4million Limousin pedigree files of five European countries (France, Denmark, Ireland, Sweden, United Kingdom) showed moderate gene flows from France to the United Kingdom and Denmark, but negligible gene flows to Sweden. Except for gene flows originating from France, and some limited gene flows between Denmark and Sweden in the 1990s, bull and semen exchanges between European countries has been scarce, especially since about 2000. Cow and embryo flows have been even more scarce. Conversely, the genetic contribution of North American Limousins to European countries has increased since the late 1990s, which has occurred because of their use in breeding programmes to introduce the polled gene. International Limousin genetics are now widely available in many countries for use in artificial insemination programmes, which has been facilitated by a large number of companies that specialise in the export and import of semen. Details of semen are published in extensively distributed catalogues. Notes References Beef cattle breeds Cattle breeds Massif Central Cattle breeds originating in France