Defra's latest gov.uk situation update shows bluetongue control moving back into an active seasonal phase. The department says there have been 343 cases of bluetongue in Great Britain in the 2025 to 2026 season, counted from 1 July 2025. The bulletin lists 320 cases in England and 24 in Wales, while Scotland has recorded none. In England, the breakdown is 308 cases of BTV-3 only, 4 of BTV-8 only, 7 where both BTV-3 and BTV-8 were found, and 1 case where the serotype was not identified. The official picture extends beyond Great Britain. Defra points keepers to a case map showing premises where one or more animals have tested positive by PCR for BTV-3, BTV-8 or BTV-12, and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs reports 5 confirmed BTV-3 cases in Northern Ireland. For farmers, vets and livestock markets, that means current decisions on movements and breeding material need to be made against a wider disease control picture, not a single local incident.
The latest case reports show why officials are continuing to stress vigilance. On 29 May 2026, Defra confirmed a new BTV-3 case in South Yorkshire after suspicious clinical signs were reported in a cow following a sudden milk drop, with other cattle on the holding aborting or calving prematurely. On 28 May 2026, a further BTV-3 case was confirmed in Wales after the birth of a dummy calf, and the calf also tested positive. Earlier May and April notifications point to a repeated clinical pattern. Defra recorded a late-term abortion in England on 22 May where the serotype could not be determined, BTV-3 cases on 8 May linked to late-term abortions, and Cumbria cases on 30 April and 1 May involving an aborted calf and a stillborn calf with brain deformities. Cases confirmed on 17 April and 21 April in Wiltshire, West Sussex, East Sussex and Derbyshire involved calves born blind, with facial deformities, with neurological signs or with a poor sucking reflex. The update is therefore doing more than counting infections; it is documenting the reproductive loss and congenital damage that trigger reporting and on-farm intervention.
Defra's risk assessment has shifted with the season. Midges that spread bluetongue became active again on 31 March 2026, and the department says cumulative temperatures are now high enough for the virus to develop inside the vector, making onward transmission possible. Officials also remind keepers that infection can arise through germinal products, including semen, ova and embryos. The current risk of incursion of bluetongue virus, including serotypes not presently circulating in England, remains rated as medium from all routes, while the risk of airborne incursion is assessed as negligible. That distinction matters for compliance. It means routine husbandry, breeding controls and movement decisions remain the main pressure points in disease management, rather than a scenario based on long-distance windborne spread.
The control position has been simplified in one respect and tightened in another. The whole of England is now in a bluetongue restricted zone, which means susceptible animals can move within England without a specific bluetongue licence or pre-movement testing. For many keepers and hauliers, that removes a layer of internal administration that applied when controls were more geographically fragmented. Germinal products are treated differently. Defra says a specific licence is required to freeze semen, ova or embryos anywhere in England, and testing is required, with sampling, postage and laboratory costs falling to the keeper. In Wales, the Welsh Government's all-Wales restricted zone has applied since 00:01 on 10 November 2025. The result is free livestock movement between England and Wales without bluetongue vaccination or other mitigation measures, but continued donor testing for germinal products before freezing and marketing.
That split between live animal movements and higher-risk material runs through the rest of the guidance. Defra maintains separate advice on moving animals within the restricted zone, on general licences for movements from the restricted zone to Scotland or Wales, and on the movement, freezing and storage of germinal products. DAERA has also published separate arrangements for some licensed animal movements from Northern Ireland to Great Britain. Traceability rules remain part of the control system rather than an administrative afterthought. Keepers are directed back to the standing identification and movement rules for cattle, bison, buffalo, sheep, goats and deer, while APHA remains the contact point for camelid keepers or anyone unsure how the rules apply to their holding. Importers and traders are likewise expected to check the current rules on imports, exports and EU trade in animals and animal products before dispatch or receipt.
Vaccination and on-farm prevention continue to sit alongside movement control. Defra's update directs keepers to the BTV-3 vaccination guidance and to the department's advice on slowing the spread of bluetongue. The structure of the official material is clear: vaccination is one part of the disease response, but it does not remove licensing, testing or reporting duties where those still apply. The communications effort is also being kept active. Recordings of official webinars, together with leaflets, videos and posters, remain part of the published response. That is particularly relevant in sectors where compliance depends on dispersed decision-makers, especially small holdings, mixed farms and markets handling stock from different areas.
Defra says its operational response follows the Bluetongue: disease control framework in England, which remains the main statement of how cases are managed. The current season began with the first confirmed BTV-3 case on 11 July 2025. Before that, Defra had confirmed 160 BTV-3 cases in England and 2 linked to high-risk moves in Wales between 26 August 2024 and 31 May 2025, alongside a BTV-12 case in England confirmed on 7 February 2025. Between November 2023 and March 2024, officials confirmed 126 BTV-3 cases on 73 premises, covering 119 cattle and 7 sheep. That record explains why the present update reads less like a short-term alert and more like standing disease administration. The first UK BTV-3 incursions in more than 15 years have given way to a system built around surveillance, restricted zone management and targeted permissions. For farmers, breeders and vets, the official message remains straightforward: watch for signs, report suspicion promptly and assume that compliance on movements and breeding material will stay central through the active vector period.