31 Mar 2025
Some animals can be moved from England’s restricted zone without testing for the next few weeks under revised measures.
Allister Webb
Job Title
Bluetongue is transmitted by midges, which are most active between April and November.
A temporary relaxation of pre-movement testing requirements for bluetongue in England has come into force.
The move allows non-breeding animals that are more than 60 days old to be moved out of the restricted zone, which covers around 25 counties and administrative areas from Yorkshire to the south coast, without testing them first.
The change is currently set to remain in place until 23 April and officials say it will be halted before then if transmission risks increase. Great Britain has been in a seasonally low vector period since January.
But an update from Defra and the APHA said the move “reflects the current low risk” of moving those animals, although licence requirements remain in force.
A total of 242 BTV-3 cases, plus one of the BTV-12 strain, have been confirmed in England and Wales since the present outbreak began last August.
However, no new infections have been reported since 15 March, when six were confirmed in counties within the restricted zone.
Entire males that are intended for breeding, together with pregnant females and youngstock that are less than 60 days old, are considered to be of higher risk and therefore remain subject to pre-movement testing despite the current rule change.
However, the agencies said the youngstock requirement would not apply if the animals are travelling with the maternal dam, which would be tested as an alternative.
