Rural Payments and Services

The Scottish Government has launched a consultation on Phase 6 of Scotland’s Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) Eradication Scheme. Share your views on the proposals on the Scottish Government consultations website.

To move Scotland closer to BVD eradication, the BVD Advisory Group and Scottish Government are proposing new measures for the scheme and are seeking your views on which of these should be introduced.

Proposed new measures include updating Check Tests, strengthening the Compulsory BVD Investigation and increasing obligations for non-breeding herds.

The Scottish Government has been working alongside the cattle industry, vets, and scientific partners to eradicate BVD in Scotland since 2010, reducing BVD exposure in Scottish breeding herds from 40% to 9%.

BVD significantly impacts on economics, productivity and welfare. Eradicating BVD will help meet Scotland’s commitment to a fairer Scotland and a just transition to 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. Avoiding the need to treat both persistently and transiently infected animals will also reduce reliance on antibiotics and aid the global effort to combat antimicrobial resistance.

The consultation will run from 15 November 2023 to 7 February 2024.