United Kingdom-Farmers want ban on live cattle imports.

UNITED KINGDOM-NORTHUMBERLAND livestock breeders say they have done everything by the book to avoid bringing bluetongue into the country after importing pedigree cattle from Belgium.

A&GE Redhead and Son, who run Bowsden Moor Farm near Berwick, said they had taken "every conceivable step to ensure the cattle arrived safe, sound and bluetongue-free".

The Royal Association of Dairy Farmers (RADF) is currently lobbying the Government to introduce a ban on the movement of all livestock from bluetongue restricted areas before the vector-free period – when the midge that carries the disease is not active – ends next month.

England, Wales and Scotland are in the Bluetongue Protection Zone, which is part of the larger European BTV8 Restricted Zone which includes Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Czech Republic and parts of France.

A&GE Redhead and Son, who breed pedigree cattle and sheep, said they imported the seven Belgian Blue cattle because they wanted to secure some of the best genetics in the breed for the UK. The animals have been certified free from bluetongue.

All the animals that are now at Bowsden Moor Farm were tested before they were moved from Belgium.

They had already been vaccinated last year and received a PCR pre-movement test at the start of January.

All tests were negative and the animals were imported at the end of the month, then moved into an isolation unit. Further blood tests were taken by Defra vets and again proved negative.