On 8 May,
Defra announced that the Bluetongue Protection Zones will be extended and
merged at 06:00 hrs on Monday 12 May, following the delivery of additional
doses of Bluetongue vaccine. Vaccination is only permitted within the
Protection Zone, therefore in accordance with the Bluetongue vaccination plan,
the Protection Zones will be merged by extending the zones into all of
Hampshire and West Sussex. The Protection Zone will also be extended into all
of Lincolnshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire. The Surveillance Zone is
unaffected.
To check the position of your own farm please type your
post code into the interactive map on the defra bluetongue website
page. It is not permitted under EU law to vaccinate animals outside
the Protection Zone. The penalties are severe.
On 7 May, Defra issued a tender for 13
million additional doses of Bluetongue vaccine, eight million for use in
England and five million for use in Wales. Scotland has also now issued a tender
for vaccine.
The message
is clear, if you are within the Protection
Zone :
Don't hesitate, vaccinate
Vaccine must be ordered via your veterinary
surgeon. Livestock keepers
may apply to have land which they occupy within 8 km of the Bluetongue
Surveillance Zone to be designated as part of that zone.
An epidemiology report on the distribution of Bluetongue
infection in Great Britain has also been published. The latest Bluetongue
information is available on the Defra website at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/notifiable/bluetongue/latest/index.htm.
Clarification for Camelids
Further to our
bulletin 5, we have confirmed the following instructions for camelid owners with Defra:
1. Vaccinated camelids in the BTV Protection Zone can move into
the Surveillance and Free Zones (with the correct licences as described on Wednesday) 60 days after the second injection. (The second injection should be 21 days after the first) . The information in the vaccine packs suggests that
only one dose is required for 'other species' but the latest information
from Defra is that camelids will require two doses.
2. Camelid movements within the BTV zones no longer require a general licence. We do
however advise members to keep diary records of all camelid movements onto and
off their premises.
3. Over 700 alpacas have now been vaccinated to our knowledge.
There are reports of mild
stiffness, flue like symptoms in a small number of animals the day after the
vaccination. There are no other reported side-effects. Members are
reminded to watch out for injection abcesses as they would with any vaccine.
Joint
Health & Welfare Committee
If you have queries, concerns or feedback on any of
these issues, or the process itself, which your vet is
unable to answer, please contact Liz Butler:
llamaliz@hotmail.com, or 01737 823375.