Bluetongue zone extended in north of England

The bluetongue restricted zone (RZ) in England has been further expanded to include Lancashire and the remainder of North Yorkshire, to further tighten disease control.

Defra announced the extension following the identification of historic cases in cattle in Lancashire, with the total recorded number of cases in the 2024-25 vector season now reaching 260.

See also: Farmers urged to be on alert for bluetongue re-emergence

The UK is currently still in a low-risk period of vector transmission, which means midges are active, but are unlikely to be infectious.

The length of time that pre-movement test samples are valid for is also changing, from 21 days to 10 days, with the new protocol applying from midnight on 27 May.

Farmers are urged to time their sampling so that they are still valid on the planned move date.

Responding to the announcement, NFU livestock board chair David Barton said:

“It has felt inevitable for some time that the Restricted Zone in England would be extended, as the virus continues to spread north and west.

“We recognise that this will cause further disruption to trade, particularly for breeding animals, which will now require a pre-movement test before being moved into the free area.”

The NFU, he said, continues to advocate for the Restricted Zone to cover the whole of England, but there is a need to find a practical solution that supports continued trade with Scotland and Wales.

“I would strongly encourage farmers to speak with their vets about vaccination as part of their disease management planning,” he added.

Exemptions to pre-movement testing

Pre-movement testing exemptions, which mean farmers don’t have to test non-breeding animals over 60 days old before moving them out of the RZ, have been extended to 12 June 2025.

Animals that need to be tested and for which you need a movement licence, include:

• Entire males intended for breeding
• Females that are pregnant or have unknown pregnancy status
• Youngstock that are under 60 days old at the time of movement. (These require a single test before they can be moved, but an exemption applies if they are travelling at foot with their maternal dam – you can just test the dam by PCR and ELISA.)
• Animals being moved for germinal product collection (ova, semen or embryo)

Any exemptions for testing may end sooner if the risk of bluetongue transmission increases.

Counties under restriction

The RZ now covers:

• Bedfordshire
• Berkshire (part)
• Bournemouth
• Christchurch and Poole
• Buckinghamshire
• Cambridgeshire
• City of Kingston upon Hull
• City of York
• Dorset
• East Riding of Yorkshire
• East Devon (part)
• East Sussex
• Essex
• Greater London
• Hampshire
• Hertfordshire
• Isle of Wight
• Kent
• Lancashire
• Leicestershire (part)
• Lincolnshire
• Norfolk
• North Yorkshire
• Northamptonshire
• Nottinghamshire
• Oxfordshire (part)
• Somerset (part)
• Suffolk
• Surrey
• Warwickshire (part)
• West Sussex
• Wiltshire (additional part)