4 Aug 2026
An urgent webinar has been planned to give vets and farmers an update on the outbreak and guidance on what to do now.
Allister Webb
Job Title
Clinical signs of bluetongue in a sheep. Image: Torch Vets
A vet has warned the bluetongue situation in south-west England is getting “rapidly worse” ahead of a new industry webinar tomorrow (5 August).
Latest official figures show 95 separate incidents have been confirmed across England and Wales since the start of July, with nearly half reported during the last week of the month alone.
But clinicians at Torch Farm Vets, which runs eight practices across Devon and Cornwall, has reported seeing clinical cases at almost 130 holdings so far.
Vet Jess Partlett said: “The situation is getting rapidly worse. Many farmers are losing sheep and seeing signs of bluetongue in cattle.
“I think many farmers didn’t expect bluetongue would impact us here to the extent that it has done and also in such a rapid way.
“In hindsight, many farmers now feel vaccination would have helped limit the impact this disease is having on the south-west farming community and its stock.
“Many have now taken up vaccination to help reduce the risk and impact to their herds and flocks.”
A farmer in the region has also said she “would have made the finances work” and vaccinated her animals in the spring had she known the scale of the losses she would face from the virus.
Prominent vets, industry leaders and Defra officials will be sharing their insights on the current situation, including clinical signs and vaccine advice, at the AHDB-led session, which is due to start at 5pm on Wednesday.
Places can be booked via the event’s webpage, while a separate form has been set up for questions to be submitted in advance.