With bluetongue rife in Europe, how much of a risk do imported animals pose?
On the continent they are now getting active disease so there is a risk there. We are yet to show that we have active disease here, so I think farmers should be very alert as to where they buy animals from and make sure that they are buying animals with the best possible protection. We would be giving the same message on domestic movements if disease was circulating here – make sure you know where you are getting your animals from and make sure you are protected. Q. Other bluetongue strains are spreading on the continent. Could imported stock introduce these to the UK? AThe one strain we shouldn’t lose sight of is BTV1. It is spreading through Europe and is well established in France so there is always the risk of that coming into the UK. There is a risk of importing BTV1 because it is present in the same areas as BTV8 in parts of France, so we do need to be very alert. Vaccine is available but is not licensed for use in the UK. Should the disease arrive we would move quickly to react
