A new license has been made available to allow animal movements out of bluetongue temporary control zones (TCZ) for welfare reasons.
The license has been approved by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) for animal movements from premises within both the Kent and Norfolk TCZs.
Chair of the Ruminant Health and Welfare (RH&W), Dr Joseph Henry, said applications for this license can only be made where animal welfare is “likely to be compromised”.
“If you are a farmer in the current TCZ, we strongly recommend that you apply as soon as you are aware that the welfare of your animals may become compromised.
“Farmers may wish to ask their vets to assist in completing the application, ensuring you highlight the reasons why welfare is likely to be affected if you don’t move the animals.
“Each licence application is assessed individually, so it is important that all necessary information is given to allow appropriate risk assessments to be conducted.”
Moves that are to outside of the TCZ, but remain close in proximity to the TCZ, will be considered a lower risk than long distance movements.
Defra said long distance movements are unlikely to be approved.
“Whether you are ready move your animals now or anticipate you will need to at some stage as conditions or forage stocks dictate, it is still very important to apply for a licence as soon as possible, this will allow Defra to respond to demand,” Henry said.
“Surveillance is on-going within the two TCZ’s across the circa 850 premises.”
As of today (Friday, December 22), there have been 30 confirmed cases of bluetongue since the initial case was detected in November.
The infected animals were found on 17 different premises with 12 different keepers.
The animals are “humanely culled” to minimise the risk of onward transmission, Defra said.
The department said: “There is still no evidence that bluetongue virus is currently circulating in midges in Great Britain. Surveillance is ongoing.”
