BVD consultation launched

A CONSULTATION to consider whether heftier sanctions should be placed on herds that continue to have ‘not negative’ status has been launched.

This starts the next phase of the Scottish Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) eradication scheme.

It will run for 12 weeks and will end on November 6.

Cabinet secretary for the rural economy Fergus Ewing MSP said: ‘The complaint I hear most often in relation to BVD is that farmers want to see non-compliant herds penalised, because they are putting the majority at risk of infection or reinfection.

‘That is why I am launching a consultation on the proposals which have been developed by the industry’s BVD Advisory Group, which will aim to put responsibility and power into the hands of farmers and encourage them to eliminate BVD from their own herds.

‘The consultation includes proposals which would make it increasingly difficult for farmers to continue to have BVD virus active in their herds, by actively inconveniencing them in terms of trading opportunities, further movement restrictions, and increased biosecurity controls.’

NFU Scotland president Andrew McCornick said: ‘A significant amount of time, cost and effort at farm level has already gone in to Scotland’s BVD eradication programme.

‘While great strides have been made by the clear majority of the nation’s cattle keepers, it is apparent from the number of persistently infected animals (PIs) being identified, that further measures that move Scotland closer to BVD free must be considered.

‘In May, it was reported that there were as many as 382 known PI animals at large on Scottish farms.

‘Worryingly, 140 holdings had two or more and even more shocking was the fact that one holding had 24 PIs at that time.

‘That has the potential to undermine the efforts being made and must be tackled.

‘This is a 12-week consultation process that we want our members to get involved in and let us know if some or all of the proposals on herd testing, herd restrictions, tissue sampling, reporting and animal tracking will move us significantly closer to our ambition of disease free status.’