England and Wales becomes one bluetongue protection zone

On Monday (1 September), the whole of England and Wales was declared a bluetongue protection zone, following the increased availability of vaccine. This means that susceptible animals can be moved within a greater area. The JAB campaign's message of Don't Hesitate, Vaccinate is now more relevant than ever - livestock farmers should protect their animals against the BTV8 strain as the whole of England and Wales has unrestricted livestock movements. Yesterday (Tuesday) the Scottish Government announced that it would allow animals from the PZ to go direct to slaughter within Scotland.

Across the channel, a grim picture is still being painted by reports that over 8,600 BTv8 and 198 BTv1 cases have been reported within the last few weeks.