Animal health updates

Blue Tongue Disease - Revised Protection Zone 7 August 2008

As at 00.01am on 7 August 2008 in accordance with DEFRA's Bluetongue Vaccination Plan, the Protection Zone will be further extended to cover all of England south of Kendal (in the west) and Newcastle Upon Tyne (in the east).

All of Shropshire is now included within the Protection Zone.

For details of the current Vaccination scheme view the Defra web page.

For details of current disease zone view the Declaratory Order on DEFRA web page.

For movement, arrangements and conditions, view the DEFRA web page.

The south-east Wales Protection Zone remains in place, for full details of movements, arrangements and conditions please visit the Welsh Assembly Blue Tongue web pages.

The detail of the vaccination roll out plan for the Welsh Protection and Free Zones is expected to be notified within the next two weeks.

Blue Tongue Disease - Vaccination Policy (Updated 6 May 2008)

A Blue Tongue Virus vaccination strategy has been announced.

In the first instance vaccination doses will be made available to keepers with livestock most at risk i.e. in the southern and eastern parts of England, within the existing Protection Zones.

As more vaccination doses become available the Protection Zones will be extended, probably county by county permitting wider vaccination dose availability.

Shropshire (other than the Oswestry district which is situated in the free zone) remains within the Surveillance Zone at present.

Therefore vaccination doses are not available at this time for Shropshire livestock keepers.

For details view the Defra news release and click on vaccination link.

Points to note

Ensure that you regularly inspect your livestock and report any disease suspicions to either your own vet or to Defra - if you are located in Shropshire please ring 01905 767111 and ask for the duty vet.

Maintain all bio-security measures necessary to prevent the spread of disease for you and any visitors entering or leaving the farm or any premises where livestock are kept.

Blue Tongue information - updated 9.30am on 7 August 2008.

Contacts

Trading Standards office hours contacts: 01743 254131 / 254144.

If you have an urgent enquiry outside of office hours please contact Graham Godbold, 07810 050093 or alternatively on-call officers on 07703 474460 or 07989 052792.

We can also be emailed on animalhealth.tradingstandards@shropshire.gov.uk