Defra has announced that Great Britain is to be declared bluetongue-free from 5th July 2011.

From this date, bluetongue susceptible species being exported from Great Britain will no longer need to be vaccinated against BTV8 or meet any of the other 'Annex III conditions.

However, the current EU Bluetongue Directive only allows bluetongue vaccination within a protection zone, so from 5^th July vaccination will no longer be permitted in Great Britain.

The British Veterinary Association is supporting Defra to lobby for these rules to be changed to allow vaccination in bluetongue areas.

Harvey Locke, BVA President, said: "The move to bluetongue freedom is thanks to the excellent partnership between government, farmers and vets across Great Britain. It is a tremendous achievement to turn the situation around from the outbreak in 2007 to freedom in 2011.

"We are disappointed that changes to the EU Directive to allow vaccination to continue could not be made before the deadline and we will continue to work with Defra to try to secure this change as soon as possible to allow vets and farmers to make the right choice to protect their herds.

"Those farmers and vets that wish to vaccinate must do so before the 5^th July.

"The BVA would reiterate the message to farmers to source stock responsibly to help avoid a future outbreak."

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