Bluetongue vaccination still a priority say NFU and CLA

Farmers and livestock keepers within the Bluetongue Protection Zone (PZ) are being urged by the NFU and CLA in the East Midlands to vaccinate their animals if they have not already done so.

In a joint statement the two organisations said: "The vaccination campaign is going exceptionally well with more than 9 million does of vaccine made available to farmers in the PZ. However, we must not be complacent, as there are still more animals to vaccinate and we must not delay in protecting them from bluetongue.

"As the weather conditions improve, the risk of new cases of bluetongue increases and the objective of the JAB campaign has been to try and protect the UK from the devastation this disease caused in much of the rest of Europe last year. We do not want to see in the UK the heavy losses of sheep seen by some other member states or the fertility problems seen in many cattle herds. The message is simple if you want to protect your livestock, "Don't hesitate, vaccinate!""

Commenting on the recent delays in vaccine delivery, the two organisations continued: "It is unfortunate that we have seen a problem with the latest batch of vaccine, which for quality control reasons is undergoing further testing. We understand the frustration that this delay has caused. However, this is just one batch and Intervet has so far exceeded delivery expectations and we are hopeful that we will be back on track very soon."

Despite the delays in sending out further batches of bluetongue vaccine, the programme is ahead of the proposed schedule. In the East Midlands, Derbyshire is the only county remaining outside the Protection Zone. It is hoped that the vaccine will soon be made available to producers there, so that all of the region's livestock can benefit from the protection the vaccination programme provides.