BLUETONGUE VACCINATION – jab and go!

Sheep, beef and dairy farmers across the East Midlands need to vaccinate their sheep and cattle against Bluetongue (BTV8) again in 2009, before animals are turned out this spring.

NFU East Midlands, in conjunction with the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) and Government Office East Midlands (GOEM) has sent vaccination awareness postcards to all livestock keepers in the region. The 2009 campaign reminds farmers and smallholders that vaccination is a price worth paying.

NFU’s senior policy adviser in the region, Simon Fisher, said: "We’ve coined the phrase "the jab and go policy" and we’re encouraging farmers to order and administer the vaccine as soon as possible. It is absolutely vital that livestock keepers recognise the importance of protecting their animals, and their livelihoods, from this devastating virus. Bluetongue hasn’t gone away and BTV8 vaccination must be an annual priority for every stock-keeper to protect their animals. On the continent, where vaccination was delayed, or not used, the effects of the disease were been terrible, with more than 22,000 cases in France, alone. Vaccination is definitely a price worth paying to protect our flocks and herds."

Animals that were vaccinated in 2008, whether cattle or sheep, need just one booster jab in 2009. Cattle and sheep that were not vaccinated in 2008 should be given two and one inoculation, respectively. Farmers are advised to contact their vet for individual advice and vaccinate any time now, before sheep and cattle are turned out for the spring and before midge activity increases with warmer weather.

In 2008, the NFU encouraged both commercial farmers and smallholders to vaccinate cattle and sheep against bluetongue (BTV8 strain), with more than three quarters of livestock vaccinated in the East Midlands. The industry must ensure that its animals are protected again this year and continue to vaccinate as long as the threat of the disease is present.