BVD policy in Scotland

[Giles1]

Got the latest list of do's and don'ts from scotgov this morning,pretty comprehensive and no hiding. I can see plenty giving up cattle altogether on the back of this. We have always been clear, but should it appear I think carrying on with our sucklers would be totally impractical financially and management wise. I applaud the openness , listing affected herds, bvd is nasty,but the potential cost of all the testing,especially in the event of a positive,herd splitting, separate housing etc. looks daunting. I suspect tb affected folk will be thinking "welcome to our world!"

 

[Agrivator]

If only the original scheme had included:

All pi animals must be sent for slaughter ASAP after identification. And eartag tracking will provide an automatic way of ensuring complicity. And anyone trying to circumvent the rules will have the choice of watching the BBC Scotland Channel exclusively or of being executed.

 

[Crex]

If only the original scheme had included:

All pi animals must be sent for slaughter ASAP after identification. And eartag tracking will provide an automatic way of ensuring complicity. And anyone trying to circumvent the rules will have the choice of watching the BBC Scotland Channel exclusively or of being executed.

You cruel barsteward.

 

[Cowgirl]

We have been accredited since 2013 and on ScotEID today it appears we are “not negative”.
No idea why - emailed but of course it’s Saturday....

 

[puppet]

We have been accredited since 2013 and on ScotEID today it appears we are “not negative”.
No idea why - emailed but of course it’s Saturday....

You have to declare that your annual testing is completed then you will get a negative status

 

[matthew]

You have to declare that your annual testing is completed then you will get a negative status

In that case, the report should read ' not tested' since --/--/--.
It seems a very back handed way of forcing people, some with closed herds and negative screens in the beginning, to join the party.

Agree re slaughter of PIs. Without that the scheme is hope over experience.

 

[puppet]

There are farmers holding on to known PI's for months. They need to be closed down until these animals are slaughtered.
Even if you were negative with a closed herd there is the need for testing. We do tissue tags so we know the status of every calf born -and therefore its mother.

 

[Cowgirl]

You have to declare that your annual testing is completed then you will get a negative status

Ah will look into this thank you.

 

[Northeastfarmer]

I’ve tag tested ours for 4 years now and clear...why they don’t make tag tests compulsory I’ll never know

 

[Cowslip]

We have been tag and testing for the last 2 years as our vets are linked to the labs and we kept getting inaccurate results meaning lots more blood test( plus work and money for the vets) only to find everything clear each time at considerable cost! We have had no bvd for at least 8 years.

 

[Cowgirl]

Finally sorted - laboratory error!

 

[M-J-G]

I’ve tag tested ours for 4 years now and clear...why they don’t make tag tests compulsory I’ll never know

That UK wide along with compulsory immediate slaughter of PI cattle would have the country free of the disease in 2 to 3 years.

 

[DB67]

I’ve tag tested ours for 4 years now and clear...why they don’t make tag tests compulsory I’ll never know

this.

within a year we would be clear if everyone had to do this instead of blood testing a select few.

 

[willie waver]

don't know what the op is moaning about, I read the new book they sent out and there's nothing of any worry in it at all and if it catches the zoomers who've who keep pi's or import them in, even better

 

[Sharpy]

don't know what the op is moaning about, I read the new book they sent out and there's nothing of any worry in it at all and if it catches the zoomers who've who keep pi's or import them in, even better

As far as I can see it will only be a problem if your business is based on buying cattle that aren't clear of bvd.

 

[cowboysupper]

That UK wide along with compulsory immediate slaughter of PI cattle would have the country free of the disease in 2 to 3 years.

It is compulsory in Northern Ireland to tissue tag at birth. It is illegal to move a PI off farm to a mart or other farm; our abbatoirs won’t buy them (so no incentive to keep them) and in the quality assurance scheme it is now mandatory to slaughter them. We started out with mandatory testing and the restrictions on moving a PI but with no government here industry had to take its once action (hence the above at farming groups request).

Making it compulsory to slaughter is good in theory but could be hard to police unless there is an official going round doing the slaughtering. Restricting where the farm retaining PIs can sell too is a far greater incentive to put the PI down. I’d prefer to see those farms completely restricted from movements until their PI(s) is put down. They’re too big a risk to everyone else and there’s a simple solution for the affected farms if they wanted their restriction lifted.