Bluetongue: how to spot and report the disease

Bluetongue movement restrictions for animals (licensing)

This information is for people who keep: 

• ruminants (cattle, sheep, goats and deer) 
• camelids (llamas and alpacas) 

Moving live animals from a restricted zone to Scotland

England and Wales are both BTV-3 restricted zones.

Lower temperatures in Scotland should prevent midges spreading the disease, so some movement rules were relaxed on 21 September 2025. However, breeding animals in particular still pose risks, as bluetongue can cause breeding problems and infected mothers can pass the virus to offspring.

You do not need to apply to APHA for this licence, but you must follow all conditions.

Use the Bluetongue Movement checker from Ruminant Health and Welfare to understand the rules for your animals, but be sure  to follow the general licence EXD662(EW) when moving animals from a BTV-3 restricted zone into Scotland. 

Make sure you correctly identify your animal type and understand the required measures (outlined below and in the general licence). Source animals responsibly and watch for disease signs. Do not move animals showing signs of bluetongue disease and instead report suspicion to APHA.

Travelling through the restricted zone 

You don’t need testing if you’re moving animals directly from a free area to Scotland through the restricted zone without stopping. However, you need to check whether animals have spent any time in the restricted zone since May 2025. If they have, you must follow the conditions explained throughout this section which are applicable to your animals.

Animals from Northern Ireland 

Ruminant animals and camelids from Northern Ireland have no BTV-3 restrictions, provided they have continuously lived in Northern Ireland and have not been resident in the BTV-3 restricted zone since May 2025. Transiting a zone without stopping is accepted.

Cross-border holdings 

If your premises is on the border between Scotland and England, it's automatically considered to be in the restricted zone. You can move animals freely within your own premises, but you must follow the general licence conditions if you want to move animals off your farm and further into Scotland.

Testing requirements for live animals

Animals that have been in a restricted zone since May 2025 may be at risk of BTV. Some animals don’t need tests (exempt animals) to leave the zone into Scotland, while others do (non-exempt animals).

Testing requirements vary by animal type and sex.

Where cattle are non-exempt, testing may be replaced with vaccination with Bultavo-3 instead. More details are below.

Animals that don't need tests (exempt):

• store animals 
• fattening animals 
• animals going for slaughter 
• female cattle, deer or camelids that are not pregnant 
• female sheep or goats (including pregnant ones) 
• breeding male sheep (tups/rams) 
• animals moved under licence EXD657(E) 

Animals that do need tests (non-exempt):

• all breeding males of susceptible species (except sheep), including: 
  • bulls 
  • bucks/billy goats 
  • stags/studs and other male breeding animals 
• pregnant deer or camelids 
• pregnant cows or heifers 

Store animals, fattening stock and non-pregnant females 

We recommend fully vaccinating these animals following the manufacturer's instructions. No testing is needed before moving them from a restricted zone to Scotland. 

Pregnant animals: requirements and recommendations

 Breeding males: requirements and recommendations

Moving animals to slaughter 

Abattoirs will no longer need to be designated. Animals can move to slaughter without BTV-3 vaccination or testing under the EXD662(EW).

Specified sales in the restricted zone

Markets in the restricted zone in England can hold specified sales for animals sourced exclusively from outside a restricted zone if they meet certain requirements and have no animals from the restricted zone on site. Be sure understand the conditions of the general licence EXD657(E) for these sales.

Location and timing requirements:

• the sale must be at a market no more than 10 miles from the Scottish border 
• animals must not have been present in the restricted zone since May 2025 and can only stay in a restricted zone for 96 hours or less, for the purposes of this sale, in order to return to Scotland without testing

Transport and biosecurity requirements: 

• animals that return to Scotland must move directly without stops in the restricted zone 
• transport vehicles must be cleaned and disinfected with approved pesticide and allowed to dry before loading animals 
• animals must be isolated and checked daily for signs of disease for 10 days after arriving in Scotland 

Licensing and testing: 

• you must follow general licence EXD657(E) conditions to move animals from a specified sale to Scottish premises

• if these conditions are met, no pre or post movement testing is required, but bluetongue vaccination is recommended 

Movement restrictions: 

• animals from the sale can move to premises in England without restrictions, but cannot travel in the same vehicle as animals going to Scotland 

Sampling instructions

Your private vet must follow Improve International guidance when collecting and sending samples. You pay for the testing. Tests are valid for 7 calendar days after sample collection. 

Important information about testing at the Pirbright Institute: 

Timing and capacity: 

• no testing happens at weekends or bank holidays, and there's limited daily capacity 
• you need at least 3 working days for test processing, and samples are tested in the order they arrive with no priority service
• do not phone the lab to request priority as this will not be granted

Sample requirements: 

• ensuring you add the full animal ID, complete all forms accurately and make sure samples are taken correctly and clearly labelled to avoid delays, extra fees for amending reports or test validity lapsing
• clearly state on the sample form whether you need PCR only, or both PCR and ELISA testing (if testing pregnant cows in the third trimester, then ELISA is needed in addition to PCR)

Results and licencing: 

• test results go to APHA and  emailed to the address provided on the submission form. Make sure it is correct and able to receive email
• don't phone Pirbright for licensing queries

Payment and planning: 

• complete your licence application in good time and plan your testing so samples are still valid on your planned move date 
• Pirbright will send you an invoice following completion of testing

Vaccination 

Vaccination is the best way to protect your animals from BTV-3 and is a key part of disease control, along with movement restrictions. Talk to your private vet about whether vaccination is right for your herd or flock. 

Vaccinated cattle movements  

Cattle that have completed treatment with Boehringer 'Bultavo-3' vaccine and show no signs of illness can move from a restricted zone to Scotland without a pre-movement test. Completed treatment means both vaccine doses were given, and 21 days have passed since the second dose. 

Testing vaccinated animals

Vaccinated animals may test positive for BTV for a few days after the injection or may be truly infected, therefore any positives  will be treated as infected, meaning they cannot move to Scotland until further investigation shows they are not at risk of spreading BTV. Avoid testing an animal within 7 days of administering a vaccine.

Moving germinal products: licence requirements

You can generally move, subject to conditions, frozen embryos, ova and semen out of the restricted zone into Scotland with either of two general licences (which you don't need to apply for) if the product is:

• unrestricted frozen germinal product, using the EXD656(EW) general licence or
• restricted frozen germinal product from tested donors in designated collection premises using the EXD658(EW) general licence

Unrestricted germinal product means it was:

• produced more than 60 days before the last day there was no bluetongue zone covering where the donor animal was, or 
• collected from an animal that hasn't been in a bluetongue zone in the previous 60 days

Restricted germinal product means:

• the donors cannot comply with the criteria to be considered unrestricted and,
• therefore have to be tested in accordance with the EXD658(EW) general licence.

Collection centres in Scotland

If you're moving an unrestricted product from a designated collection centre in the bluetongue zone to premises in Scotland, you must meet all conditions of the EXD658(EW) general licence (you don't need to apply for this). Collection centres in Scotland cannot be designated for animals from the restricted zone. For moving animals from the restricted zone to Scottish collection centres, contact the Scottish Government at:  animal.health@gov.scot. 

You can read more about this on GOV.UK: Bluetongue: moving, freezing and storing germinal product.