Rural Payments and Services

A consultation to consider whether heftier sanctions should be placed on herds that continue to have “not negative” status has been launched.

This starts the next phase of the Scottish Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) eradication scheme.
It will run for 12 weeks and will end on 6 November 2017.

Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy Fergus Ewing said:

“The complaint I hear most often in relation to BVD, is that farmers want to see non-compliant herds penalised, because they are putting the majority at risk of infection or reinfection."

“That is why I am today launching a consultation on the proposals which have been developed by the industry’s BVD Advisory Group, which will aim to put responsibility and power into the hands of farmers and encourage them to eliminate BVD from their own herds."

“The consultation includes proposals which would make it increasingly difficult for farmers to continue to have BVD virus active in their herds, by actively inconveniencing them in terms of trading opportunities, further movement restrictions, and increased biosecurity controls."

“BVD is one of the most harmful diseases of cattle in terms of economic cost and welfare, and we recognise that eradicating it requires a more holistic approach based on both stronger incentives and heftier sanctions."

"That is why we are supporting the cattle industry in its continued efforts to eradicate this disease from our herds.”