Battle Bluetongue campaign

Battle Bluetongue campaign launched for 2025

Farmers in England, Scotland and Wales are being urged to consult their vet about vaccinating their herd or flock against Bluetongue serotype 3 (BTV-3) as part of a ‘battle bluetongue’ campaign which is running across industry.

As there is no treatment for the disease, BTV-3 continues to pose a significant threat to both cattle, sheep, goats and camelids, with potential impacts on animal health, productivity, and trade. Therefore, slowing the disease spread through vaccination and restricted movements in affected areas remains the best defence.

The proactive campaign #BattleBluetongue has been developed by Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) and Ruminant Health & Welfare (RH&W) in collaboration with key veterinary and industry associations.

The campaign is directing farmers to have proactive discussions with their vets to assess their risk to BTV-3.

By working through the new resource produced for the campaign with their vet – a vaccine decision maker tool – farmers can understand their BTV-3 risk to then defend their stock by vaccinating the right animals.  

Farmers are encouraged to develop farm specific battle plans with the aim to help increase the level of vaccination for high-risk stock to provide some level of defence against the disease on-farms.

Farmers are being encouraged to:

• ASSESS YOUR RISK 

• PROTECT YOUR BUSINESS

• DEFEND YOUR STOCK

  Three BTV-3 vaccines have been permitted for use. Two of these have been granted a marketing authorisation by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD), and the third is unauthorised. You can only use these vaccines if your use is compliant with a valid licence or declaration.

  For more information on the BTV-3 vaccines including permits and licences visit Bluetongue serotype 3 (BTV-3) vaccination.

  Where you can use the BTV-3 vaccines 

  You can use these vaccines in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In:

  • England you must comply with the legal conditions of the general licence for England, including reporting vaccine use
  • Wales you must comply with the legal conditions of the general licence for Wales, including reporting vaccine use
  • Scotland you must comply with the Bluetongue declaration for Scotland, including reporting vaccinating cattle and sheep and reporting vaccinating other susceptible species
  • Northern Ireland you must apply for a specific licence for Northern Ireland and comply with the legal conditions within the licence, including reporting vaccine use in Northern Ireland

Learn more about BTV-3 here.