The Scottish Government have launched a consultation on Phase 6 of Scotland’s Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) Eradication Scheme.
The consultation is open for anyone to respond to, but we are particularly interested in hearing the views from those working in the cattle industry. Therefore please share the consultation with any relevant contacts you may have.
You can respond to the consultation here.
BVD is one of the most important cattle diseases for economics, productivity and welfare. Eradicating BVD will help meet Scotland’s commitment to a Fairer Scotland and Net Zero by making Scotland’s cattle businesses more profitable and sustainable. Scottish Government analysis has shown that by eradicating BVD the average Scottish farm benefits by £2,000-£14,000 annually (£20-£70 per cow per year) depending on farm type. By avoiding the need to treat both persistently and transiently infected animals this will also reduce the reliance on antibiotics and aid the global effort to combat antimicrobial resistance.
Since 2010, the Scottish Government has been working alongside the cattle industry, vets, and scientific partners to eradicate BVD in Scotland. Over this time, the level of BVD exposure in Scottish breeding herds has reduced from 40% to 9%. This is due to the great efforts of cattle keepers and their vets to test, identify and remove sources of BVD infection in the Scottish breeding herd.
To move Scotland closer to BVD eradication, the Scottish Government is proposing to introduce new measures into the scheme. These include updating how Check Tests are carried out, bolstering the Compulsory BVD Investigation and increasing obligations for non-breeding herds.
The consultation will run from 15th November 2023 to 7th February 2024.