Bluetongue restrictions extended to cover all of Scotland

Scotland’s bluetongue restricted zone will be extended to cover the whole country from Saturday 3 October, removing movement licence requirements for cattle, sheep and other susceptible livestock ahead of the busy autumn trading season.

The move, agreed by the Scottish government with key farming industry organisations, including NFU Scotland, means animals can move into, within and out of the existing south-west Scotland restricted zone without the licences previously required.

The Scottish government said the change should make trading considerably simpler for farmers, hauliers and auction markets, while some disease controls will remain in place.

See also: Fallen sheep numbers surge in bluetongue-hit areas

Animals showing clinical signs of bluetongue must not be moved, while affected animals will continue to be restricted to their premises for 60 days. Restrictions on movements to Northern Ireland will also remain.

Since the south-west Scotland restricted zone was set up on 10 September, bluetongue has been detected on 40 premises. Four cases were identified outside the zone through tracing animal movements from affected farms.

Michael Priestley, policy manager at the National Sheep Association, said the decision would reduce bureaucracy at a crucial point in the farming calendar, but warned of the potential disease risk.

“The National Sheep Association supports the decision to simplify trading rules at this time of the year, as risk of transmission decreases in autumn as the culicoides midge activity falls as temperatures go down,” he said.

But he added: “Farmers should be aware that there is a trade-off between the benefit of eased restrictions and a reduced bureaucratic burden that brings an increased risk of the virus spreading.”

Neil Shand, chief executive of the National Beef Association and Scottish Beef Association, said extending the zone was “the most logical way forward to prevent trade complications”.

But he added: “The overall message on bluetongue remains the same, and that is that the only way to protect your cattle fully is to vaccinate.”

Vaccination push

Scotland’s farming minister, Jim Fairlie, said the decision reflected the situation Scotland now faced with bluetongue and would remove an administrative burden during a critical trading period.

He said vaccination remained “the single most effective way” for farmers to protect susceptible livestock from the worst effects of the disease. He urged livestock keepers to speak to their vet now to secure supplies ahead of next year’s higher-risk season.

A joint Scottish government and industry communications group is also being established to promote vaccination and provide advice to farmers and veterinary practitioners.

Bluetongue is a notifiable disease and suspected cases must be reported to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (Apha) or, in Scotland, to your local Apha field services office. Failure to report a suspected case is an offence.