Animal BVD status information has been displayed on APHIS/ NIFAIS since 12/02/2018 by DAERA, in response to requests by industry, in effort to reduce the spread of the BVD virus.
From early February 2018 AHWNI BVD statuses from both the Voluntary and Compulsory Phases of the BVD Eradication Scheme have been available on APHIS/ NIFAIS. This allows herd owners to view current BVD statuses on NIFAIS on-line and NIFAIS herd lists, and serves as an additional reminder of the BVD risk and actions that may be taken in herds where an animal has obtained a BVD status that is not negative.
DAERA also introduced movement restrictions for certain animals that do not have a BVD negative status:
- For animals born on or after 1st March 2016 – only negative (BVDN) animals can be sold at market, sold directly to another herd or exported (including via an Export Assembly Centre).
- For animals born before 1st March 2016 – animals which are positive (BVDP), inconclusive (BVDI), dam of a PI (DAMPI) or offspring of a PI (OFFPI) cannot be sold at market, sold directly to another herd or exported (including via an Export Assembly Centre).
- For animals born on or after 1st March 2016 – only negative (BVDN) animals can brought to slaughter at abattoir.
Moves which are not permitted cannot be processed on NIFAIS Online and any animal taken to a market or abattoir when movement is not permitted cannot be sold/slaughtered and must be returned to the herd from which it moved.
The application of these restrictions provides an incentive for farmers to establish the BVD status of animals that do not have a recorded test result and to retest non-negative animals. Herd owners should discuss testing of positive or inconclusive calves, their dams and other offspring where relevant with their private vet. ‘Unknown’ status may mean that the animal has not been tested or an unsuitable sample has been taken: in these cases a button tag may be applied and an ear tissue tag sample submitted for testing.
Such testing will accelerate the disclosure of positive animals, allowing herd owners to cull them at an earlier stage, as veterinary advice is that PI animals should be humanely destroyed as soon as possible after receipt of an initial or re-test positive result. The prevention of movements of non-negative stock helps to decrease the level of spread of BVD virus between herds.
These measures complement the Eradication Scheme, intensify the drive to remove PIs, and so accelerate progress towards eradication of BVD.
