Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Minister, , MLA, is reminding herd
keepers that from 1 February 2025, herds containing animals that
have a positive Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD)
test result could be subject to herd level movement restrictions.
Minister Muir said: “BVD is a serious and highly
contagious disease of cattle, which affects their productivity
and compromises their welfare. Before Christmas I announced
the introduction of new measures that will contribute to the
eradication of this disease in Northern Ireland.
"These measures are being introduced in a phased manner,
starting on 1 February 2025. While it is expected that
initially, only a small number of herd keepers will be affected,
no herds should be restricted because of a positive animal within
the first year, if keepers act quickly within the allowed ‘grace
periods'.”
For three months from 1 February 2025, herd keepers will be
allowed a 28-day ‘grace period', where they can avoid
restrictions if all BVD positive or inconclusive animals are
culled, or re-tested with a negative result,
before the end of this ‘grace period'. This ‘grace period' will
be reduced to seven days from 1 May 2025 and removed completely
on 1 February 2026, after which restrictions will be applied
immediately after a BVD positive or inconclusive result is
detected in the herd.
Minister Muir added: “Further measures will be introduced
in the next few months which will also target herds containing
animals over a month old that haven't been tested for BVD. I
would therefore encourage herd keepers to plan ahead to avoid
these restrictions by ensuring all their animals are promptly
tested for BVD. Testing all unknown status animals now will
be much easier while animals are housed for winter.”
From 1 June 2025, movement restrictions will be applied to herds
with animals of unknown BVD status. This will be introduced in 3
stages, with the threshold number of unknown status animals
reducing over a 16-month period. Keepers who are compliant with
the testing requirements of existing legislation will not be
impacted.
Minister Muir concluded: “The BVD measures which I
recently announced are essential to control this disease which,
as well as affecting animal welfare is a significant financial
burden on industry. Only through the support of the wider
industry by all herd keepers acting quickly and complying with
legal requirements will we make faster progress towards the
eradication of this disease."
Further details of the measures, how and when they will be
applied and how to avoid them is available on the DAERA website
at: www.daera-ni.gov.uk/publications/bvd-herd-restrictions.
Notes to editors:
1. BVD is mainly spread by persistently infected (PI) cattle,
which are born with the disease, having come into contact with
the virus in the womb. The virus can spread by other
routes, including transiently infected cattle, which produce less
virus for 2 to 3 weeks, after which they recover.
2. Under the BVD Eradication Scheme Order (NI) 2016 BVD Order,
herd keepers are required to sample all calves within 20 days of
birth as well as any bovine born that enters a herd without a
negative BVD status. Animals that test positive should be
isolated to prevent direct or indirect contact with other
susceptible animals. This Order has been amended to require
the testing of older animals, born before 1 March 2016 without a
BVD negative or indirect negative status.
3. The BVD Control Order (NI) 2024 introduces herd level movement
restrictions in a phased approach:
- From 1 February 2025 herds with positive or inconclusive test
results will be allowed a 28 day ‘grace period' before
restrictions are applied. Restrictions can be avoided if
the animal is removed from the herd or retests negative during
the grace period. This ‘grace period' will be reduced to
seven days on 1 May 2025, and to zero days from 1 February 2026,
when restrictions are applied immediately following a positive or
inconclusive result.
- Restrictions on herds with animals of unknown status, will be
introduced from 1 June 2025, initially targeting those herds with
larger numbers of unknown status animals. Keepers will be
advised in advance if they will be subject to these restrictions
and can avoid them if they test all animals in their herd which
are more than 30 days old.
- Movement restrictions will apply to all breeding age females
within herds with positive animals from 1 February 2026.
