Scottish BVD Eradication Scheme: guidance

BVD requirements when selling, buying and moving cattle

Declaring BVD status

All keepers of breeding cattle, including temporary keepers such as auction marts, must inform potential buyers of the BVD status of their CPH or the individual animal. Providing accurate information at time of sale also helps to avoid disappointment and disputes when buyers take the animals home. Many sellers see the advantage of providing BVD information at all sales: full disclosure allows buyers to make arrangements to test BVD Not Negative animals, such as untested English stores, before mixing them with their existing herd.

Livestock markets have an important part to play.  In Scotland, market software should be able to automatically check the status of an animal on ScotEID. If the market’s software doesn't automatically check BVD status then the BVD lookup facility on the ScotEID website can be used instead.  

BVD Positive animals are restricted

BVD Positive animals (PIs and suspect PIs) can only be moved directly to an abattoir. They cannot be moved through a market or to any other holding.

Herds with BVD Positive animals are restricted

Herds with one or more BVD Positive animals are not permitted to bring cattle on to the holding: this restriction applies if the Positive animal is still on the holding 40 days after the positive result was reported by the laboratory.  The restriction includes returns from shows and sales. The Positive animal(s) must be re-tested BVD Negative or removed from the herd before new animals are purchased.  Positive animal can only be re-tested by a vet.   

Calves of dams that were pregnant when they moved on to the holding (Trojan cows)

When buying in-calf females, remember that the BVD status only applies to the dam. The status of the unborn calf cannot be guaranteed: calves can only be tested after birth and may have a different status to their dam.

A Trojan cow is a pregnant female that is carrying a calf of unknown BVD status.  Any female that is in-calf when brought in to the herd could be a Trojan cow.  If the dam was infected with BVD in early pregnancy, the unborn calf will be a PI and could cause a damaging BVD outbreak after it is born.

From 1 February 2026, calves of dams that moved on to the holding during pregnancy must be BVD tested before they are 40 days old.  This applies to calves born on or after 1 February 2026.  The most cost-effective way to test a calf of this age is with a tissue tag.  Buyers of in-calf females are advised to have a stock of BVD tissue tags ready for when the calves are born. 

Low risk animals from outside Scotland

Some non-Scottish cattle are low risk for BVD and can move in to a breeding herd without a BVD test. This applies to: Republic of Ireland cattle born since 1 January 2013; Northern Irish cattle born since 1 March 2016; and cattle from English or Welsh herds that have been CHeCS accredited for BVD for the lifetime of the animals. The status of these low risk imported animals may not show correctly on ScotEID until after the movement has been reported. 

'Risky' animals

Some cattle are more 'risky' for BVD, and are automatically labelled BVD Not Negative on the ScotEID system.  This applies to cattle from outside Scotland that do not have a BVD result uploaded to ScotEID and are not otherwise recognised as low risk.  It also applies to cattle without BVD status that have moved illegally from Scottish holdings: either animals without status that have moved off a BVD Not Negative holding or animals that were born on a Non-Breeding holding but were not BVD tested.  If a “risky” animal moves in to a breeding herd, the keeper has 40 days to get a BVD status for that animal before the herd is classified as BVD Not Negative.  Herd status will be restored when all “risky” animals have an individual BVD Negative status, provided that annual testing is up to date and is Negative.       

Moving risky animals off the holding  

Not Negative ('risky') animals must be BVD tested Negative, or gain an Assumed Negative status, before moving out of a breeding herd.  The only exception is for animals moving directly to slaughter.