16 Jul 2021
Independent livestock industry body Ruminant Health and Welfare sets ambitious goals to eradicate both bovine viral diarrhoea and sheep scab by 2031.
Paul Imrie
Job Title
Ambitious plans to eradicate bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) and sheep scab in 10 years have been unveiled.
Members of the Ruminant Health and Welfare (RH&W) group said the targets to rid farms of both by 2031 can be achieved through coordinated or mandatory control and disease screen plans, and in the case of scab, a vaccine.
The steering group – which includes representatives from the BCVA, BVA, NFU, APHA and its equivalents – brought together 70 stakeholders from the four UK nations for a brainstorming workshop.
Sheep scab – which is endemic in in the national flock, affecting 10% to 15% of farms and costing up to £202 million a year – would be tackled through mandatory annual screening, flock traceability and coordinated control programmes.
BVD, another farm priority, is already being tackled in each of the four nations, by statutory or voluntary efforts, but RH&W said mandatory measures across the board would be a key next step to coordinate eradication efforts.
Speaking at the workshop, Stewart Burgess of Moredun Research Institute – which is working on a vaccine for sheep scab – said: “The reality is that there are imminent threats and the status quo is not working.
“Modelling studies have shown that focusing control on disease hotspots not only makes gains in those targeted areas, but can also have a significant impact on sheep nationwide.”
On BVD, Sam Strain – chief executive at Animal Health and Welfare Northern Ireland (NI), who was heavily involved in establishing NI’s compulsory BVD programme – said legislation was critical for eradication.
He said: “We live in an archipelago where animals are often traveling across borders. Any control programme needs to have coordinated messages between the four nations – being cognisant of international requirements such as the EU Animal Health Law.”
RH&W hopes that by setting the eradication targets for 2031 it wants to create a high health environment across farms in all four nations before the next decade.
