The European Parliament has voted to pave the way for the UK to obtain bluetonguefree status, while retaining the ability to continue vaccinating.

The parliament backed European Commission proposals which would allow member states to carry on vaccinating against bluetongue even if they are outside the restricted zones.

This means the UK is likely to move from its current ‘Low Risk Zone’ status and qualify for disease-free classification, which comes with trading benefits.

NFU livestock board chairman Alistair Mackintosh said it was a ‘winwin’ for the industry.

“If all goes to plan this will mean that we will have the protection levels associated with being disease free, which means imports from protection zones will have to be vaccinated or tested before they come in, and we can export without having to vaccinate,” he said.

“We have been working proactively with Defra and our NFU office in Brussels to change this legislation and we are pleased that it finally looks set to happen. However this decision still has to be ratified by EU Council in May and we will need to look closely at the finer details.

“It is important to remember that while cases across the EU were limited last year, and present risk levels
are low, we are seeing some member states move from compulsory to voluntary vaccination programmes.

“We know how quickly Bluetongue virus can spread so it is essential that we have the ability to vaccinate and
protect ourselves against any future outbreaks across Europe. The only way to protect UK cattle and sheep from this disease is through vaccination.

“Crucially, this decision will mean that we will also retain our ability to vaccinate voluntarily which gives our farmers the flexibility and protection they need. I firmly believe that if you give farmers the tools and correct opportunities they can manage and control disease.”

The new rules are expected to be approved by EU Farm Ministers in May and should come into force in June. There have been no cases of BTV8 in the UK since 2008

There was no active BTV8 circulation reported in Northern Europe this year. In 2010 there was one case of BTV1 in France, two cases of BTV1 in Portugal, five cases of BTV1 BTV4 in Spain and 24 cases of BTV1, 2, 4, 8, 9 in Italy.