Herd level movement restrictions are among measures being introduced to support the eradication of Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) in Northern Ireland.
BVD is mainly spread by persistently infected (PI) cattle, which are born with the disease, having come into contact with the virus in the womb.
The virus can spread by other routes, including transiently infected cattle, which produce less virus for 2 to 3 weeks, after which they recover.
Currently, over 98% of cattle in Northern Ireland have a negative BVD status.
However, in the past 12 months, just under 1,000 calves in Northern Ireland have tested positive for BVD in around 470 herds.
Herd restrictions
The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) said that the legislation to implement herd restrictions will come into effect on February 1, 2025.
All respondents who participated in a public consultation which concluded in December 2022 welcomed the proposal to introduce herd restrictions as a disease control measure for BVD in Northern Ireland.
The BVD Control Order (NI) 2024 introduces herd level movement restrictions in a phased approach, as follows:
- From February 1, 2025 herds with positive or inconclusive test results will be allowed a 28 day ‘grace period’ before restrictions are applied. Restrictions can be avoided if the animal is removed from the herd or retests negative during the grace period;
- This ‘grace period’ will be reduced to seven days on May 1, 2025, and to zero days from February 1,2026, when restrictions are applied immediately following a positive or inconclusive result;
- Restrictions on herds with animals of unknown status, will be introduced from June 1, 2025, initially targeting those herds with larger numbers of unknown status animals. Keepers will be advised in advance if they will be subject to these restrictions and can avoid them if they test all animals in their herd which are more than 30 days old;
- Movement restrictions will apply to all breeding age females within herds with positive animals from February 1, 2026.
The department said that restrictions applied to herds will also be applied to associated herds -those which are epidemiologically linked to the herd, which has had restrictions applied to it.
Restrictions will remain in place until 21 days after the positive animal is removed from the herd or retests negative, as long as all animals more than 30 days old have a negative BVD status.
BVD
Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Minister, Andrew Muir, MLA, is urging herd keepers to act now to avoid being impacted by these new measures.
“BVD is a serious and highly contagious disease of cattle which affects their productivity and compromises their welfare.
“Since the introduction of the compulsory eradication scheme in 2016, significant progress has been made in driving down the incidence of the disease.
“However, I am aware that more needs to be done to eradicate this disease and I have listened to industry, who have been engaging extensively with my department, on what our next steps should be,” he said.
Minister Muir added that it is expected that “only a small number of herd keepers will be impacted by these measures”.
“Restrictions can be avoided if herd keepers act now and comply with existing legal requirements to ensure all their animals are promptly tested for BVD.
“Also, if a positive case is detected, the impact of herd restrictions can be minimised if herd keepers act quickly to isolate and either remove the animal from their herd or arrange for a re-test,” he said.
AHWNI
The legislation has been developed through engagement with Animal Health and Welfare, NI (AHWNI), the delivery partner for the NI BVD eradication scheme.
Dr Sam Strain, chief executive of AHWNI, said that the introduction of these measures is “a very welcome addition to the Northern Ireland BVD Eradication Programme”.
“They are crucial if we are to achieve our ambition of eradicating BVD here. Industry has already demonstrated its considerable commitment to achieving this aim with significant progress made to date.
“These new measures are an essential next step for the programme and will have a substantial effect in reducing further the level of infection, therefore helping to support farm businesses, improve animal health and welfare as well as protect our shared environment,” he said.
“The key to eradicating BVD is the prompt identification and removal of persistently infected (PI) cattle.
“The steps set out in this legislation will greatly enhance the removal of these infectious animals and therefore reduce the risk of further infection transmission.
“During the first year of these measures, no farmers need be restricted due to BVD if all PI animals are speedily removed from their herds and, in those herds with positives, all animals over a month of age have a BVD negative status.
“I fully expect these enhancements to the programme will lead to a further large reduction in the level of BVD here,” Strain added.
