Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s latest situation report sets the 2025 to 2026 bluetongue season at 343 confirmed cases in Great Britain since 1 July 2025. England accounts for 320 cases, Wales 24, and Scotland has recorded no cases; the same update points to 5 confirmed BTV-3 cases in Northern Ireland and repeats the instruction for keepers to remain vigilant and report suspect disease. (gov.uk) Taken together, that places bluetongue firmly in routine operational planning for livestock businesses rather than in a narrow contingency category. Farmers, markets, hauliers and veterinary practices are dealing with a disease-control regime that now affects ordinary trading and breeding decisions across much of Great Britain. This is an inference from the published case totals and control measures. (gov.uk)
Recent detections show why the official advice continues to focus on clinical vigilance. On 29 May 2026, Defra recorded a new BTV-3 case in England after sudden milk drop and abortion or premature calving on the holding; on 28 May, Wales recorded a case after the birth of a dummy calf, with the calf also testing positive. Earlier April and May confirmations were linked to late-term abortions, stillbirths, neurological signs, blindness, facial deformities and poor sucking reflex in calves. (gov.uk) The operational point is that suspicion may arise through fertility and calving outcomes as much as through obvious acute illness. Herds and flocks showing abnormal births or unexplained reproductive loss still fall squarely within the reporting picture set out by Defra and APHA. This is an inference from the case descriptions in the official update. (gov.uk)
Defra’s risk assessment has moved with the season. The department says the midges that spread bluetongue became active again on 31 March 2026 and that warm conditions have pushed cumulative temperatures high enough for the virus to develop inside the vector, meaning onward transmission is now possible. It also says animals can become infected through germinal products such as semen, ova and embryos. (gov.uk) The current national assessment is that incursion risk from all routes, including serotypes not currently circulating in England, remains medium, while airborne incursion is negligible. For keepers, that suggests biosecurity, breeding management and vaccine planning need to be treated as one joined compliance task during the vector-active period. The second sentence is an inference from Defra’s risk statement. (gov.uk)
Control zones are now broad in coverage but still detailed in application. The whole of England is within a bluetongue restricted zone, allowing animals to move within England without a specific bluetongue licence or pre-movement testing. Wales has been under an all-Wales restricted zone since 00:01 on 10 November 2025, and the Welsh Government says livestock movements between England and Wales no longer require bluetongue vaccination or other mitigation measures. (gov.uk) That is a significant easing for routine trade across the England-Wales border, especially for store stock, finishing animals and seasonal grazing movements. It does not, however, remove the need to check destination rules elsewhere in the UK, because Scotland and Northern Ireland still operate under separate conditions. The second sentence is an inference from the published movement rules. (gov.uk)
The stricter edge of the regime sits around germinal products. In England, freezing semen, ova or embryos anywhere in the country requires a specific licence and testing, with the keeper responsible for sampling, postage and laboratory costs. In Wales, donor animals must still be tested before germinal products are frozen and marketed. (gov.uk) For breeding units, semen collection centres and pedigree operations, that leaves little room for informal practice. The published policy treats germinal products as a continuing route of transmission even where livestock movement rules inside the restricted zones have been simplified. The second sentence is an inference from Defra and Welsh Government guidance. (gov.uk)
Cross-border trade inside the UK remains uneven. Defra signposts separate licensing routes for movements from the restricted zone to Scotland or Wales, while DAERA says all animals may move within Northern Ireland under general licence but live ruminant movements from Great Britain to Northern Ireland remain suspended because of confirmed BTV-3 in England and Wales. (gov.uk) In practical terms, the England-Wales position is now simpler than the Great Britain-to-Northern Ireland position. Businesses buying or dispatching stock across more than one administration still need destination-specific checks before transport is arranged. The second sentence is an inference from the published rules. (gov.uk)
Vaccination is still presented as a farm-level protection measure, not as a substitute for legal movement compliance. GOV.UK says three BTV-3 vaccines are authorised for use in the UK - Bluevac-3, BULTAVO 3 and Syvazul BTV 3 - and that a vet must prescribe them, although the keeper may administer the dose. In Great Britain, keepers must record each vaccinated animal, keep those records for at least five years and report vaccine use within 48 hours. (gov.uk) The official guidance tells keepers to decide whether to vaccinate in discussion with their vet. For producers, that points to a need for a recorded decision before the main summer transmission window, particularly where breeding stock, show animals or high-value movements are involved. The second sentence is an inference from the vaccination guidance. (gov.uk)
Defra’s update also makes clear that bluetongue controls do not replace the ordinary traceability system. Keepers are still directed to the standing rules for cattle, sheep, goats and deer, and APHA remains the contact point for camelid keepers or anyone unsure how the rules apply. Separate import, export and EU trade conditions continue to sit alongside the domestic disease controls. (gov.uk) That administrative detail matters because compliance failures are as likely to arise from paperwork as from disease status. The published guidance therefore points livestock businesses back to record-keeping, identification and movement reporting as part of the same control picture. The second sentence is an inference from Defra’s linked guidance. (gov.uk)
The current restrictions sit within a longer outbreak history. Defra says the first case of the 2025 to 2026 vector season was confirmed on 11 July 2025, after 160 BTV-3 cases in England and 2 high-risk move cases in Wales between 26 August 2024 and 31 May 2025, plus one BTV-12 case in England on 7 February 2025. It also records 126 BTV-3 cases on 73 premises between November 2023 and March 2024, which it describes as the first UK BTV incursions for more than 15 years; the previous confirmed outbreak was BTV-8 in 2007 to 2008. (gov.uk) That history explains the structure of the present response. Defra says it is managing cases through the Bluetongue disease control framework in England, and the present mix of zoning, targeted testing, movement permissions and vaccination guidance reflects that standing control model. The second sentence is an inference from Defra’s framework reference and the current rules. (gov.uk)