Bluetongue 'Restricted Zone' impacts East's livestock farms

Concerned farmers from across the East of England joined a bluetongue webinar on Wednesday hosted by a partnership of industry organisations.

The whole of Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex has been declared a Restricted Zone (RZ) after a surge in new cases of the potentially-fatal animal virus.

It means movement restrictions and licences now apply to susceptible ruminants including cattle, sheep, goats and deer, as well as camelids such as llamas and alpacas.

The meeting heard that the initial case, a sheep near the Broads village of Haddiscoe on August 26, was most likely infected on August 11 by a bite from a midge blown across the sea from mainland Europe.

Chief veterinary officer Christine Middlemiss said there is now evidence of "very localised circulation" of the virus within this country's midges, which can spread the virus from animal to animal on farms.

Christine Middlemiss is the UK's chief veterinary officer (Image: Defra)

She said data modelling of potential outbreaks predicted that case numbers would be lower if the disease arrived later in the summer, and could be further reduced by animal movement restrictions.

"Movement controls can be effective in stopping long distance movements taking disease to free parts of the country, and infecting midges there," said Prof Middlemiss.

"That is the basis of the restricted areas that have been put in. But we do appreciate they are a massive burden on the industry in the zone.

"We are very much trying to walk a line between having restrictions in place that stop the spread of disease to the free area, while not being so burdensome for those within the restrictive area that they cannot undertake any activity at all."

Gordon Hickman, Defra's head of exotic disease control, outlined the new movement rules.

Movements of susceptible animals into or within the RZ do not need a licence, he said, and livestock shows and gatherings are still permitted within the zone - although animals cannot leave the zone afterwards. But it is prohibited to move an animal within the RZ if it shows clinical signs of bluetongue on the day of transport.

For movements out of the zone, a general licence is needed to transport animals directly to slaughter at a designated slaughterhouse. For all other animal movements, including to live on premises outside the RZ, farmers must apply for a specific licence.

Mr Hickman said farmers should allow at least five days for licence applications to be processed - but he warned that "complex and high-risk movements will need extra time to process".

He urged farmers to "make contingency plans to allow for the time it takes to issue licences, and consider what steps are needed if it is refused or cannot be issued in time".

Meanwhile, farmers were encouraged to speak to their vets about three new vaccines approved this week by Defra, and to monitor their animals for bluetongue symptoms.

Bluetongue does not affect human health or food safety, but it is a notifiable disease and livestock keepers must report suspected cases to the APHA on 03000 200 301.

For guidance on bluetongue disease and RZ movement restrictions and licences, see  ruminanthw.org.uk/bluetongue-virus or www.gov.uk/guidance/bluetongue or call the BTV hotline 024 7771 0386.