Progress tackling cattle disease

INITIAL TESTING results show that Scotland’s ambition to eradicate the cattle disease bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) is achievable.

Of an estimated 9,000 breeding herds in Scotland, 8,200 have now been tested for the disease.

With some results pending, 78% of herds have been found to be negative for BVD and 22% not negative.

There are regional differences, but NFU Scotland believes the results provide a strong base for eradication. NFUS has now backed Scottish Government plans to make it illegal to knowingly sell an animal known to be persistently infected with BVD.

The high level of testing also brings Scotland a step closer to introducing a requirement to declare the BVD status of the herd or individual animal when cattle are being sold at breeding sales.

NFUS president Nigel Miller commented: “Eradication plans are industryled and designed to tackle a signif icant economic disease in cattle.

“These results now open the door to making progress with our eradication plans.

“The next milestones include a legal requirement preventing producers from trading animals known to be persistently infected with the disease.

“Stopping the movement of these highly infectious beasts is crucial to halting the spread of disease.

“With the Scot EID database, which carries Scotland’s BVD testing data, going live, we also need to work up the traffic light system which will highlight an animal’s BVD status at point of sale.

“That would allow farmers buying cattle to manage their risk, and for herds free of BVD to gain market recognition of the effort they have made to stay clear of the disease.”

A regional approach may be taken to an eradication programme with some areas already significantly ahead of others in terms of freedom from disease,