Bluetongue restrictions in place for at least two years

Bluetongue is circulating in the south-west of Scotland, the Scottish government has confirmed as it announced that livestock movement restrictions in the area are set to continue.

Much of Dumfries and Galloway and parts of Ayrshire have been subject to a temporary control zone since last month but from Thursday it will join England and Wales in becoming a restricted zone.

It means livestock such as cattle, sheep and other susceptible ruminants will still need a licence if they are being moved out of the restricted zone to the rest of Scotland.

And the restrictions will only be lifted once the region has been free of the disease for two years.

Agriculture Minister Jim Fairlie said the industry should start to prepare for the disease "gaining a permanent hold within the rest of Scotland".

The temporary control zone was put in place after the virus was recorded in livestock in Scotland for the first time at a site in Creetown.

Fiona Johnson - whose farm was affected - told the BBC she "felt awful" after the case was confirmed.

Experts believe that midges infected with the disease were blown over the border from England, where there are many more cases.

The most recent figures show bluetongue serotype 3 (BTV-3) has infected 64 cattle and 15 sheep at 20 farms in Scotland since the first case on 8 August.

They are located around Newton Stewart, Lockerbie, Castle Douglas, Kirkcudbright, Dalbeattie, Dumfries, Annan, Gretna, Canonbie, Twynholm and Gatehouse of Fleet.

If an animal is showing clinical signs of bluetongue, it must be reported immediately to the Animal and Plant Health Agency.

The Scottish government said that dropping temperatures reduced the risk of the disease which meant other changes planned to restrictions would come into place alongside the creation of the restricted zone.

From 10 September, store, fattening and non-pregnant female animals will no longer need to be tested or vaccinated to move from the restricted zone to the disease-free area of Scotland.

Some breeding animals will still require vaccination and testing before leaving the zone.

Agriculture Minister Jim Fairlie said: "We have been doing all we can to stop bluetongue getting a foothold but the evidence now is regrettably showing us that the disease is circulating in south-west Scotland, meaning that legally we have to make that area a restricted zone.

"What this shows is that the disease is not going away any time soon, and industry should start to prepare for the disease gaining a permanent hold within the rest of Scotland.

"I recognise that this is an extremely difficult time for farmers and the wider industry and we are continuing to work closely with them on how we deal with the disease in Scotland for the longer term."

He said vaccination was the only "viable long-term strategy" to control the disease and urged anyone with susceptible livestock to speak to their vet "as soon as possible".

John Cowan, Dumfries and Galloway regional manager for NFU Scotland, said they believed restrictions would still be eased later in the week despite the change to being a restricted zone.

"It is a legal requirement because the disease has been shown to be circulating area," he said.

"It has been a bit of a shock to the farmers this morning but, realistically, the movement restrictions will be the same as they were.

"We are still looking for the restrictions to be eased on Thursday so that a lot of the cattle and sheep can be moved to sales across the country."

BTV-3 does not affect people or food safety, but it causes a high rate of death in infected sheep and fertility problems in infected cattle.

Symptoms include nasal discharge, redness and swelling of the lips, nose and muzzle, lameness or reluctance to stand, a decrease in milk production and diarrhoea in cattle.