The Poultry Keeper

milkmaid · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 6954 Location: isle of lewis

yep both deb a i have ordered job lot of needles and syringes a while ago ,as we were thinking we didn't want to pass it on ,i've only got safe handling in meds certificate , Rolling Eyes

,yep i'm quite happy to pay for the vacine as well ,but again we are not allowed to are we till defra say we can vacinate ,

bronskibeat · Joined: 09 Sep 2007 Posts: 1528 Location: Clawddnewydd

Well, I've just got off the phone with a friend who is in daily contact with Welsh assembly, dufra (no, its not misspelt!) etc and she has spoken to someone in the Welsh Assembly and its not good news. Unless there is an outbreak in Birmingham, they will not be putting Wales in to the protection zone. The earliest that they would perhaps consider a welfare license for moving my sheep would be mid to end of November, but not to hold my breath. They suggested negotiating with the purchasers for an extension on grazing my sheep. No chance, if I go down that route then they will keep turning down any application to move the sheep and tell me to keep renegotiating for grazing Twisted Evil

Looking at some of the other farming forums, it is becoming increasingly obvious that as the virus is not decimating flocks at the moment, but just making a couple unwell and then they recover, farmers are going to be less inclined to report cases - they'll just get rid of any carcasses and keep quiet.

bronskibeat · Joined: 09 Sep 2007 Posts: 1528 Location: Clawddnewydd

This is the link to a previous post re the need to order vaccines. As you can see, it was Intervet's production of Classic swine Fever vaccine that was binned and not as I have incorrectly posted, Merial (I did say I wasnt 100% sure....... Embarassed

)

Quote:

People who attended the conference confirm:

"This is absolutely right. When Intervet produced lots of CSF vaccine the bureaucrats subsequently decided to slaughter instead and all that expensive vaccine had to be wasted anbd destroyed The Vacc companies are not taking any more chances. They need firm orders and commitment and the governments are so thick they do not seem to realise that the vaccine will not simply be there when they want it. I don't know if the hold up at Merial insisted upon by DEFRA has yet been lifted. Utter madness."

Links to all this on www.warmwell.com - bluetongue page . Also links to the CVO and deputy CVO.

milkmaid · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 6954 Location: isle of lewis

i'm afraid i've nicked this as well Wink

http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/Bluetongue-Fears-cattle-stranded-by.3395212.jp

bronskibeat · Joined: 09 Sep 2007 Posts: 1528 Location: Clawddnewydd

I've just stolen this from another forum, its a direct copy and paste......

Re: Vaccination proposal 4 discussion by Dr Watkin
Reply #2 - Today at 13:09
I thought this e mail I received may be of interest :

There appear to be some new cases of Bluetongue reported in the Sevenoaks area today but as yet not confirmed by DEFRA, this will extend the control zone and will link the zones south of the Thames with those north of the Thames.

The latest statistics across Europe are, Holland 5,776, Belgium 5,041, Germany 15,404, France 5,149 and Luxembourg 1,107 a total of 32,447 holdings.

UK, up until yesterday evening 50. Mortality figures in Belgium alone are 50,000 almost a third of their sheep population.As much pressure as possible needs to be put on Government now to order supplies of vaccines for 2008 EU funding is available up to 100% of the cost of the vaccine and 50% of the cost of vaccinating, so there is absolutely no excuse for not doing so. Unfortunately DEFRA, contrary to all teh experience and scientific evidence from mainland Europe still seem to be convinced that they control and eradicate BT by containment.

Such and attitude could destroy the red meat industry in the UK next year.

I try to look on the positive side, but then I remember it is DEFRA that are in control.

debcat · Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2007 4:55 pm Post subject:

the sevenoaks outbreak is now confirmed and the zones have changed
although defra havn't updated the map yet Confused

there's 52 confirmed cases now

cookie88 · Joined: 08 Sep 2007 Posts: 302 Location: ISLE OF LEWIS

52? beeb says 50?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7059775.stm

milkmaid · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 6954 Location: isle of lewis

bb i saw your post somewhere else on your movement liecence i'm ever so sorry and hope that you get something sorted , Crying or Very sad

bronskibeat · Joined: 09 Sep 2007 Posts: 1528 Location: Clawddnewydd

Thanks milkmaid, I've developed a "blitz" mentality at the mo and am finding the whole situation mildly amusing for some strange reason (thats my situation, NOT that of the poor guys stuck down south in the BT control zones whose problems make me cry).
Its staggering that Page St can tell people stuck in a 20km control zone running out of feed and grass to ring the RSPCA to find feed and grazing within the BT control zone. Dont they think that EVERYONE inside this zone will be in the same boat and there wont BE any spare grazing to be had?????? Morons!!!!!!!!!
This extract from another forum (hope no-one minds Embarassed

) shows the utter stupidity of these zones:

DIARY 31st. October
Today at 07:15
Out of frustration and spending some hours on the road last night with plenty of thinking time, I have come up with the following:-

BLUETONGUE INFECTED CATTLE

TO ALL WHO IT MAY CONCERN

We have 5 cattle infected with the BTv8 virus following blood testing and showing no symptoms of the disease.

We were initially restricted from moving any animals off the farm following the confirmation of the disease in two rams. Following blood test results all restrictions on the movement of animals off the farm have been lifted on 25th. October.

The 5 infected cattle were retested on 29th. October to try to measure how long they have had the disease for. Remember that cattle can remain Viraemic for up to 60 days.
After blood testing was completed I asked what I should do with these cattle and was told anything that I liked.

So today we are moving them to a farm on the East, West Sussex border on the edge of the Control Zone.

I presume that this will have the effect of moving the CZ line outwards another 20 km. After 6 days on this farm we shall move them on another 20km. And so on.

There does not appear to be anything to prevent these legal movements.

This also shows the farcical situation that this all is, as potentially it is a much higher risk moving cattle. All we wish to do is move our sheep to Winter grazing instead of being forced sellers of livestock and being put out of business for next year.

Frank Langrish

I think I'll ask him to move them up to the west of Peterborough, it may push the protection zone past Ruthin (I'm kidding before anyone takes umbrage!! Rolling Eyes

) But it does show the sheer stupidity of it all doesnt it?

Chris Kurzfeld · Joined: 29 Oct 2007 Posts: 1222 Location: Carmarthenshire

I don't know if I am being thick here, or not reading things right, but I thought that as Blue tongue was caught through being bitten by midges/mossies there was to be no exclusions zones for, or restrictions on moving, blue tongue livestock. I don't see how even Defra can put a movement restriction on flying insects and restricting movement isn't going to stop the mossies etc... moving on elsewhere. Restrictions and exclusion zones on F & M I can understand. I live in S W Wales and have sheep and chickens and according to Defra's latest telephone message last week there are no movement restrictions at all in Wales.

Chris

debcat · Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2007 5:40 pm Post subject:

Chris,
we all know that the midges won't see a line on a map but defra seem to think they will Confused

it's just defra doing what they do best Evil or Very Mad

debcat · Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2007 5:42 pm Post subject:

At long last,
although whats the betting they don't order enough Confused

http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/latest/2007/animal-bluetongue-1018.htm

Update 12:30 1 November
Secretary of State for the Environment, Hilary Benn, today announced that Defra is to issue a tender for a Bluetongue vaccine bank.

Defra will tender for between 10 and 20 million doses, subject to an assessment of the anticipated demand. Discussions on this are currently underway with the industry.

No suitable vaccine is currently available for the strain of Bluetongue circulating in England (serotype Cool

. However several companies have vaccines in development and these are expected to be available from next summer.

In keeping with the principles set out in the Bluetongue Control Strategy, which was developed in partnership with the farming industry, livestock keepers will be offered the opportunity to purchase vaccine from the bank.

milkmaid · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 6954 Location: isle of lewis

the problem is if you remove an infected animal ,they i think are contagous for 60 days and then it is bitten by a midge it will then spread it to a new area faster ,but it's going to spread anyway and it looks as if some animals are going to starve anyway ,so the restrictions are worse at the moment than the illness Crying or Very sad

yep the liecences are there to be applied for but not one has been granted even with vets letters
the cull collection was today for the island for the lambs Sad

1100 lambs for this load

good news about the vacine

bronskibeat · Joined: 09 Sep 2007 Posts: 1528 Location: Clawddnewydd

It makes me so cross all this. What an utter waste of lambs.... The whole problem that we currently face is because dufra (yes, intentional mis-spelling) let F&M out via Pirbright. They then locked the whole country down.... TWICE and that caused no end of problems with sales being a month plus late, breeding stock not being able to move to their usual autumn/winter grazing. Just as we are allowed to eventually get moving, Blue Tongue strikes the South the same day and Deathray and HMG make even worse movement restrictions with lines on maps that will stay in place for a minimum of 2 years AFTER the last recorded case of Bluetongue virus in this country. Since nothing was able to move of any significance in the 12 hrs between the F&M restrictions being eased and the draconian movement restrictions now in place, livestock is rapidly running out of food. But Page St dont seem bothered by this, just phone the RSPCA, they'll supply 1 weeks worth of feed for your livestock and try and find you some spare grazing........ great, thats really going to help isnt it????? (see previous posts for how this is totally bonkers Twisted Evil

)
Wales, bless them, have shut and bolted the door to the rest of us poor s*ds as the Welsh Assembly dont think that the midges are going to be able to cross Offas Dyke and so they will be safe and sound until Defectra gives them the all clear in about 10yrs time, or, when they finally get round to ORDERING THE BL***Y VACCINE....... (you can tell I'm annoyed, cant you Rolling Eyes

) What they havent yet grasped, but is so painfully and abundantly clear to the rest of us thick country bumpkins is that (and you are quite right in everything you have observed in your post Chris) livestock is not contagious like in F&M and MIDGES CANT READ MAPS so how are they going to know not to cross the border in to Wales or Scotland........... Yes, part of Wales is in the protection zone, but the Welsh Assembly has cunningly pasted that bit back on to England until we get the all clear and is completely ignoring that part of Wales now.
What fascinates me is, if and when England becomes a whole zone, what are Wales and Scotland going to do then? I mean, most of their hill sheep come down (and in some cases are already down) here in England for the winter to graze dairy farms. They are not going to be allowed back home and the dairy farmers wont want to be stuck with them. Its a complete shambols. They have issued licenses for welfare movements that they have absolutely no intention of honouring so they can show the public that they are in fact, actually doing something to help the farmers. The sad thing is that there is no compensation for Blue Tongue Virus once it has been officially acknowledged as an outbreak. So, we have a disease that will kill 1000's of animals without them ever becoming infected because they will slowly starve to death due to terrible movement restrictions that are a complete waste of time because the cause has a tiny brain and cant read a map (and neither can the midges come to that Wink

)

Right, rant over and I see we may possibly be getting the vaccine now, although it will probably only be available to cattle as HMG seems to have a very unhealthy dislike of the poor sheep. And, the vaccine tenders had to be in by yesterday...............