UK on the verge of bluetongue-free status

The NFU has hailed a European Parliament vote that has paved the way for the UK to potentially obtain bluetongue-free status with the ability to continue vaccinating.

The EU Parliament has backed European Commission proposals yesterday, Thursday, to allow Member States to vaccinate against bluetongue even if they are outside the restricted zones. This means the UK will move from its current status as a Low Risk Zone and qualify for disease-free status while still retaining its ability to vaccinate.

NFU livestock board chairman Alistair Mackintosh said: If all goes to plan this will mean that we will have the protection levels associated with being disease free, which means imports from protection zones will have to be vaccinated or tested before they come in, and we can export without having to vaccinate. Its a win-win for the industry.

We have been working proactively with Defra and our NFU office in Brussels to change this legislation and we are pleased that it finally looks set to happen. However this decision still has to be ratified by EU Council in May and we will need to look closely at the finer details.

It is important to remember that while cases across the EU were limited last year, and present risk levels are low, we are seeing some member states move from compulsory to voluntary vaccination programmes. We know how quickly Bluetongue virus can spread so it is essential that we have the ability to vaccinate and protect ourselves against any future outbreaks across Europe. The only way to protect UK cattle and sheep from this disease is through vaccination.

Crucially, this decision will mean that we will also retain our ability to vaccinate voluntarily which gives our farmers the flexibility and protection they need. I firmly believe that if you give farmers the tools and correct opportunities they can manage and control disease.

• The new rules are expected to be approved by EU Farm Ministers in May and should come into force in June.
• There have been no cases of BTV8 in the UK since 2008
• The last national surveillance exercise carried out in November 2009 showed the UK is free from circulating disease.
• On June 12 2010, Great Britain became a Lower risk Zone (LRZ). This meant that imports into the country have to meet additional requirements under Annex 3 of the Commission Regulation 1266/2007. This move had the full backing of the NFU.
• There was no active BTV8 circulation reported in Northern Europe this year.
• In 2010 there has been one case of BTV1 in France, two cases of BTV1 in Portugal, five cases of BTV1 BTV4 in Spain and 24 cases of BTV1, 2, 4, 8, 9 in Italy.