Scottish Bovine Viral Diarrhoea eradication scheme: consultation on phase five responses

Background to the Scottish BVD eradication scheme

The Scottish Government, together with industry, veterinary practitioners and scientific partners, is committed to eradicating BVD from Scotland. We have been working together through the BVD Advisory Group with the ambition of eradicating BVD efficiently, in a way that suits the distinctive nature of Scottish farming.

Since the introduction of Scotland's BVD eradication scheme, we have seen the level of BVD exposure drop from 40% to 10% of breeding herds. This progress has been achieved during the first four phases of the scheme. The reduction in BVD exposure is due to great efforts on the part of cattle keepers and their vets to test the Scottish breeding herd to identify and then remove sources of BVD infection, supported by industry partners and backed by Scottish Government legislation.

To advance the scheme towards a satisfactory conclusion, the BVD Advisory Group agreed that there should be further restrictions on "not negative" herds to reduce disease spread within the Scottish national herd. These further restrictions were focused on keepers who choose to retain Persistently Infected ( PI) animals or do not investigate the cause of their "not negative" status. The suggested restrictions were distilled into eight proposals, which were set out in the BVD consultation.