Plan to tackle cattle disease

The plan to remove bovine viral diarrhoea infection from Scottish dairy and beef cattle moved a small step forward yesterday with the Scottish Government launching a consultation on the next phase of the eradication plan.

BVD is one of the most important diseases of cattle in terms of economic cost and welfare, causing abortion, infertility, failure to thrive and often death. It is currently estimated to be present in around 40 per cent of herds in Scotland.

Estimates have been made which put the eradication of the disease to be worth £50-80 million in increased output and reduced business costs over the next ten years.

The consultation will cover whether the industry wants a ban on moving or selling persistently infected animals, other than straight to slaughter from February next year. A similar timeframe is proposed for all herds to have a BVD status before any stock is moved from the farm.

Another strand suggested that where herds have BVD then cattle should not be sold unless they are free from the disease.