Bluetongue - Hampshire Precautions in Place

• DEFRA Help Line Number: 08459 335577

• Hampshire County Council Regulatory Services - Animal Health 01962 833621

• Press Release - Bluetongue - Case Confirmed in Hampshire

Bluetongue Update 11^th August  2008

Defra has announced that the Bluetongue Protection Zone has been extended again on Monday 11 August.

The Protection Zone has been extended to cover the Counties of Durham and Tyne and Wear (Metropolitan Boroughs of Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland) and the Unitary Authorities of Hartlepool, Darlington, Stockton-on-Tees, Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland.

This extension has been agreed following a review of the vaccine available in the supply chain. Vaccination is only permitted within the Protection Zone

The whole of Hampshire continues to be in the Protection Zone and livestock holders are encouraged to order vaccine so that they can protect their livestock at the earliest opportunity.

A copy of the declaration and map effective from the 11th August can be found on the Defra website at:

• http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/notifiable/bluetongue/pdf/declaration-bt-pz-080808.pdf

The vector free period has now ended as of 15 March 2008.

From 15 March no animals are permitted to move out of the Restricted Zone (under vector free period movement rules) and movement restrictions have returned to those which were in place before the Vector Free Period was declared on 20 December 2007.

The continuing main effect within the areas caught in the Protection Zone is that ruminant animals can only be moved out of that area by complying with the appropriate licensing conditions. These are:

Movement to slaughter from a Protection Zone to an areas free from restrictions:

• http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/notifiable/bluetongue/pdf/exd464-080611.pdf

Movement to slaughter from a Protection Zone to the Surveillance Zone

• http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/notifiable/bluetongue/pdf/exd466-080611.pdf

General Licence for the movement of Ruminant Animals out of a Protection Zone

• http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/notifiable/bluetongue/pdf/exd482-080728.pdf

NB. There are other licences that deal with general movements and movements from the Surveillance Zone.

These can all be found on the DEFRA Website – see:

• http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/notifiable/bluetongue/movements/index.htm

General information can be found on the DEFRA Website at:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/notifiable/bluetongue/latest/index.htm

The DEFRA website also has an interactive map to check if you are in the affected zone. This can be found at:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/notifiable/bluetongue/movements/index.htm