Recent content by Ruminant Health & Welfare

Welcome to Ruminant Health & Welfare While it’s been a busy time on farm for many with spring lambing and calving taking place, the RH&W group working across the four nations continue in our collective efforts to share insights, explore research and progress welfare strategies. I was pleased...

Advice for farmers to ‘ACT’ on BTV-3 Farmers and the industry must remain Aware, apply Caution and use evidence-based Tactics to ACT and mitigate against the latest strain BTV-3. Following a technical AHDB meeting with the support of Ruminant Health & Welfare, Lesley Stubbings, sheep...

Welcome to Ruminant Health & Welfare Welcome to the latest newsletter It has been a very busy time since our last update with much planning going on in the background looking ahead to re-starting work on the beef welfare strategy as well as plans to report on the GB calf welfare strategy. We...

A series of practical advice webinars for show organisers and vets have been organised to help key stakeholders prepare for the risk that notifiable and new and emerging diseases pose to livestock. Maintaining effective biosecurity to protect them has never been more critical, so Department for...

Ruminant Health & Welfare has worked with stakeholders from across the ruminant sector to create a flowchart to help farmers in the recently lifted Temporary Control Zones (TCZ) navigate what this means for their farm and animal movements during the vector low season for midges. Click here to...

Welcome to Ruminant Health & Welfare Welcome to the first RH&W newsletter of 2024 Our important work continues with our focus now on developing a beef welfare strategy with the working group as well as progressing the welfare goals identified in the dairy and sheep strategies through 2024. As...

Defra has announced that we are now in a seasonally vector low period when midge activity is much lower, leading to some changes to disease control measures for BTV-3. BTV-3 is the new strain of bluetongue currently being found in northern Europe and UK and is mainly transmitted via biting...

Norfolk farmers and other stakeholders invited to bluetongue discussion in-person meeting A farmer focussed bluetongue meeting is being organised for Monday 15 January by key industry organisations working together to provide support and information for farmers and vets in the Norfolk Temporary...

New licence available for movements out of Bluetongue Temporary Control Zones where there is a welfare need A licence has been made available by Defra for animal movements to be considered, from premises within the Kent and Norfolk Temporary Control Zones (TCZ) to premises outside the TCZ...

Welcome to Ruminant Health & Welfare 2023 will go down as the year of collaboration with the launch of the RH&W Dairy Welfare and RH&W Sheep welfare strategies in June and November respectively, both with a 5-year vision to show progress in animal welfare, and both with nearly 100 supporting...

Further cases of BTV3 have been confirmed over the weekend within the existing Temporary Control Zone (TCZ) in Kent, however there has been a positive development that a designation has been confirmed for the ABP Guildford abattoir. This is the first abattoir outside the TCZ to be able to...

RH&W announcement - 14/12/23 Following active surveillance in the north-east Kent Temporary Control Zone (TCZ), a further 3 cases of bluetongue in cattle have been identified on a holding in the Sandwich Bay area. The holding is situated in the existing TCZ. Guidance on ‘Importing animals...

Following active surveillance within the temporary control zone (TCZ), two further cases have been identified taking the total number of cases to seven. Both cases are linked to a holding with previously confirmed cases of bluetongue serotype 3 (BTV-3). “These two animals were, until recently...

Following active surveillance within the 10km temporary control zone (TCZ), a further four cases of bluetongue serotype 3 (BTV-3) have been identified in cattle on two additional farms. “It’s clear the surveillance is working,” says Dr Joseph Henry BVMS Cert SHP MRCVS, chair of the Ruminant...

Farmers in and around the Temporary Control Zone (TCZ), can now access and call a dedicated bluetongue hotline to get advice or ask questions linked to the current situation. All farmers and keepers of animals can access the bluetongue hotline: 024 7771 0386 NFU members can also access the...