UK: The Regional Veterinary Offices to trace cattle that entered Ireland from Great Britain

Regional veterinary offices (RVOs) around the country will contact all farmers who imported cattle from Great Britain (GB) since the start of October in a tracing effort to protect against bluetongue virus (BTV). Movements of ruminant animals from Great Britain to the island of Ireland have been suspended. On November 10, a single case of bluetongue virus serotype 3 (BTV-3) was confirmed in a cow in Kent, in the south-east of England. The UK’s Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is taking measures to ensure that the risk of spread of the disease is reduced, with movement restrictions in place at the affected premises. As a result of this confirmed outbreak in England, all moves of ruminant animals and their germinal products (semen, embryos) from Great Britain to Ireland (including Northern Ireland) are temporarily suspended. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is undertaking tracing of all cattle and sheep movements from Great Britain into ...