Britain on course for new bluetongue status

BRUSSELS officials are set to decide today on a request to grant Britain a new bluetongue risk status that would see tighter controls placed on imported livestock.

The Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCFOCAH) is due consider a proposal to re-designate Britain as a ‘blue zone’ when it meets today (Thursday).

The change from the current Protection Zone (PZ) status would enable England, Wales and Scotland to impose tighter controls on imports of livestock from parts of Europe where bluetongue is still considered to be a risk. But it would also allow farmers to continue vaccinating, which would not be the case if bluetongue free status was designated.

The concept of the blue zone was introduced by the European Commission over a year ago as an option for countries seeking a gradual ‘exit strategy’ from a PZ.

The British authorities and farming industry have been pressing for the change for some time to address concerns that farmers are currently being put at risk by imports of potentially infected animals. But difficulties in agreeing the details of how the policy would be implemented have so far prevented the status being granted.

Speaking ahead of the SCOFCAH meeting, industry figures were ‘cautiously optimistic’ that these issues have now been resolved and that the status would be granted.

“We would welcome the change, which would enable us to carry on vaccination, which is vitally important, but also to impose stringent conditions on imported stock,” NFU chief livestock adviser John Mercer said on Wednesday.

The British Veterinary Association (BVA) recently expressed concern that a big increase in livestock imports this year, including from parts of Europe where bluetongue has been rife, allied with a significant drop off in vaccination rates, is increasing the risk of a new bluetongue outbreak in Britain.

04 June 2010