Smallholder news
Bluetongue campaign
With the end of the vector-free period and the threat of more cases of bluetongue, organisations from across all elements of the livestock sector have come together to launch a Joint campaign Against Bluetongue (JAB).
The 12 organisations involved, which represent livestock farmers, livestock markets, meat processing, dairy processing, and the veterinary profession, all fully support the joint industry/Defra vaccination plan for bluetongue and are committed to working together on the campaign to achieve the mass vaccination of bluetongue susceptible animals in England.
A joint statement said: "We recognise that a voluntary approach to vaccination has raised some eyebrows in some quarters but we are convinced that a voluntary, industry compulsory, mass vaccination programme is the right approach.
"We believe that the EU's bureaucratic rules for a compulsory vaccination programme requiring official supervision would have slowed down the process of vaccination, put individual farmers businesses at greater risk, and increased the likelihood that the virus would spread across the country before animals could be vaccinated.
"Although the programme will be run on a voluntary basis, JAB is now embarking on a major campaign to urge all farmers with susceptible livestock to vaccinate their animals as soon as vaccine is available."
The campaign, which is supported by Defra and Animal Health, will utilise national and regional media outlets as well as more direct contact through farmers meetings, livestock markets and contact with private veterinary surgeons.
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