The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) is set to host a bluetongue information event for farmers later this month.
‘The latest situation with bluetongue’ online event will take place on Wednesday, December 20 from 2.30p.m until 3.30p.m.
NFU’s livestock and animal health and welfare experts will update union members on bluetongue amid further cases being confirmed in Kent and Norfolk.
The event will explain what the virus is, how it is spread and what livestock keepers need to know and what the current picture in Kent looks like.
Bluetongue
Two further cases of bluetongue were identified in cattle today (Friday, December 8) on a farm near Cantley, Broadland in Norfolk, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 11.
A 10km temporary control zone (TCZ) has been declared around the premises and both animals will be humanely culled to minimise the risk of onward transmission.
The UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the newly confirmed cases bring the total number of cases to 11 on six different premises.
Defra said surveillance is ongoing and that there is currently “no evidence” that bluetongue virus is circulating in Great Britain.
Movement restrictions apply to cattle, sheep and other ruminants within the TCZ.
The first case of bluetongue in sheep was confirmed by the department yesterday (Thursday, December 7) and prompted the National Sheep Association (NSA) to urge sheep farmers in Kent and Norfolk to be on high alert for signs of the disease.
The disease was confirmed in a single sheep on a mixed cattle and sheep farm in the existing temporary control zone (TCZ).
The TCZ was set up around the initial case in early November, near Canterbury in Kent, with a radius of 10km from the case premises.
