THE Scottish Government's strategy to stop bluetongue disease spreading north of the Border will become clear later today, after a meeting in Edinburgh of industry stakeholders.
It is generally accepted that a compulsory vaccination programme will be initiated but not until the commencement of the vector-free period. The disease, which causes many deaths in sheep and a loss of productivity in cattle, is spread by midges, s
o vaccination is unlikely before November.
In the meantime, the Scottish Beef Cattle Association (SBCA) is keen to see restrictions imposed on farmers who import livestock from areas in England and mainland Europe where bluetongue is prevalent.
Last week, a Scottish farmer caused a furore when it was discovered he had purchased cattle in France and intended to bring them to Scotland. He would have not been breaking the law, but he eventually decided to leave his purchases in England for the time being.
John Bell, the technical directors of the SBCA, said: "It's not bluetongue that is our worst enemy – it's greedy farmers trying to save a few shillings by importing cheap livestock from European hot spots, not only putting their own stock at risk, but that of the whole British livestock industry.
"We share Scottish Government and NFU Scotland concerns over imports of potentially infected livestock before any planned vaccination occurs. We would support as strong a line as possible to deter imports."
The legal position on banning imports remains vague, but the general view is that if Scotland had the disease and France did not, then the French authorities would ban all trade with immediate effect.
Bell added: "If an import ban is impossible to enforce, then deterrents could include a movement standstill for the destination holding of imported stock until the vector-free period. Defra (Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs] appear to be putting movement restrictions on imported animals while vaccination in England progresses. A full inspection of a destination holding would also be justified, with no single farm payment given until full compliance and ear tag replacement is completed."
There is no doubt Scottish livestock farmers feel highly vulnerable to bluetongue, especially given that there are insufficient stocks of vaccine available to cover the entire country. In addition, any occurrence of bluetongue could lead to the suspension of the valuable live-cow trade with Ireland.
