Latest updates from Ruminant Health & Welfare

Welcome to the latest RH&W newsletter

As the main calving and lambing seasons draw to a close, the focus for farmers turns to turnout and grazing. Although the consistent dry weather remains welcomed by many, we remain mindful that the early warm spring encourages unwelcome challenges such as liver fluke, Nematodirus and the impact to the midge vector period for bluetongue. We are continuing to monitor the situation closely and will share any updates.

A lot of work is going on behind the scenes in the BTV-3 working groups to help continually educate farmers and supply useful resources to vets – it is great to see that Scottish government are allowing use of BTV-3 vaccine (from 30 April) reducing cross border challenges.

Other important milestones have been World Animal Vaccination Day (April 20^th) and World Immunisation Week (April 24-30^th) campaigns which are important reminders to us to make use of the accessible tools available to support animal health and welfare management.

A valuable industry resource is the National Office of Animal Health’s (NOAH) Livestock Vaccination Guideline – developed with veterinary experts and made for both vets and farmers.

I urge you to use this and play your part in supporting responsible vaccination and preventative animal health planning. It is vital we help reinforce best practice in disease prevention as it aligns closely with our goals of improving livestock health and welfare across the UK.

It also offers practical advice to prevent disease outbreaks and support productive healthy animals and encourages proactive herd and flock management to reduce reliance on antibiotics – all this helps supports sustainable farming through a one health approach by helping prevent disease and improve animal welfare.

I would actively encourage both farmers and vets to download and utilise this valuable resource.

Thank you as ever to everyone across our working and steering groups for all your input.

Gwyn Jones
Chair
RH&W

Latest bluetongue BTV-3 updates

For the latest updates and information on bluetongue BTV-3, visit our resource hub here.

NFU unveils 10-year vision for the British beef sector

During the 15^th year of Great British Beef Week, the National Farmers Union (NFU) unveiled its 10-year vision for thriving beef sector. The vision outlines how the sector can work with the government, the supply chain and levy boards over the next decade to enhance its reputation as a globally renowned supplier of high-quality, high-welfare and climate friendly produce.

A major part of the vision focuses on tackling prominent animal health and welfare challenges – Bovine TB (bTB) and Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD), and outlines better use of, and government support for industry tools such as AHDB’s eMedicine Hub, and the APHA body.

Chair of the NFU livestock board, David Barton says: “From ensuring fairness in the supply chain and safeguarding animal health and welfare, to achieving our environmental and climate goals, this new vision outlines how the British beef sector can lead the way into a better future.”

Read the full NFU beef sector vision here: https://www.nfuonline.com/updates-and-information/nfu-livestock-board-beef-vision-for-2035/#section-Animal-health-and-welfare-uE6S0lwzTX

SCOPS urges farmers to consider broader factors when deciding if/when to treat lambs against nematodirus

During the recent warm spell, many areas of the country have reached temperatures which see the hatching of nematodirus larvae on pastures that carried lambs the previous spring. However, the nature of the warmer weather suggests new lambs may have been protected.

The early hatch caused by the unseasonably warm temperatures in some areas is unlikely to have affected too many lambs as there would have been few old enough (6 weeks of age) to ingest the larvae. The graduality of the hatch, due to higher temperatures being sustained, means that grazing animals are also not faced with a ‘mass hatch’ – helping to develop immunity in lambs introduced to the larvae over a prolonged period of time.

Despite these restricting factors, SCOPS is urging farmers to remain vigilant and avoid complacency if they have already treated for nematodirus due to reports of strongyle species in hoggets and some older sheep which could be encouraging high levels of contamination on pastures this spring. SCOPS urges farmers who have lambs aged 6-8 weeks at the end of April, to start taking faecal (FEC) samples to monitor the situation.

Find the SCOPS risk assessment here: https://www.scops.org.uk/internal-parasites/worms/nematodirus-in-lambs/

Cattle: GB disease surveillance and emerging threats report

Read the latest APHA quarterly report to find latest updates and information about new and emerging diseases in cattle.

Cattle: GB disease surveillance and emerging threats reports – GOV.UK

Dairy technology survey

A survey to understand how many dairy farms use precision livestock farming technologies is currently being carried out by Joanne Sharpe, as part of her PhD at Harper Adams University.

The research is being carried out to understand this and to what extent information gained from these technologies is being used to support on-farm decision-making.

All dairy staff are encouraged to participate in the survey, whether technologies are being used to assist with managing their herd or not. This is to help build a clearer picture of what is happening across dairy farms and help determine what could benefit producers going forward.

The survey results will identify ways to help ensure dairy farmers can get the most out of the technologies they choose, both now and in the future. The work will also generate recommendations for manufacturers, farm advisors and industry groups, to enable them to better support farmers in optimising digital technology for decision-making and good cow management.

The survey takes 5-15 minutes to complete, take part via https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/harper-adams/plf

Sheep worrying remains a blight on the industry, says the NSA

The NSA has published the latest findings from its annual survey as part of its ‘sheep worrying by dogs’ awareness campaign. 87% of survey respondents experienced a dog attack on their sheep in the last 12 months – with results suggesting attacks are becoming more severe with a greater level of injuries. Reduced animal welfare following attacks was considered to be the greatest impact of sheep worrying.

Read the full results of the survey here: https://nationalsheep.org.uk/assets/documents/SWBD-survey-results-for-website-2025.pdf?v=1744621935