Livestock 'at risk from bluetongue'

A leading group of vets say "thoughtless and selfish" farmers are placing the entire UK livestock industry at risk from a recurrence of the 2007 bluetongue outbreak which cost the UK farming industry millions of pounds and resulted in widespread restrictions on animal movements.

The warning comes after new figures showed a dramatic increase in livestock imports this year, with figures for the first three months already exceeding total levels for 2009.

Between January and March this year nearly 5,000 animals were imported to Britain, as compared with 4,000 in the whole of 2009.

The figures have led to the country's national veterinary associations warning livestock farmers that a major bluetongue virus (BTV8) threat still exists owing to imports from the Protection Zone in mainland Europe.

The British Veterinary Association (BVA) and its specialist divisions for cattle, sheep and goats are now calling on farmers to vaccinate and make a very careful assessment of the need to import animals.

In a letter to the Veterinary Record journal, bosses at all of the bodies said "the thoughtless and selfish actions of the few could have disastrous consequences for the many".

The two main routes the disease can use to enter Britain are via wind-borne midge incursion from Europe or via an animal movement into the country, with the latter considered the greater risk.

Past British Veterinary President and member of Defra's Bluetongue Core Group Nicky Paull said: "We would urge extreme caution when importing stock from areas where BTV8 has been circulating."

North Yorkshire-based sheep consultant Paul Roger, a member of the Sheep Veterinary Society, said: "In an outbreak situation the scramble for vaccine could leave flocks exposed."

The last outbreak meant many Yorkshire-based agricultural shows had to cancel or curtail their livestock classes.