Bluetongue UK 2026: cases, restricted zones and what livestock farms should check

Bluetongue cases in the UK: the 2026 to 2027 season so far

The 2026 to 2027 season is far bigger than the last one. GOV.UK’s bluetongue latest situation page reports 3,441 confirmed affected premises to midnight on 22 October 2026, against 348 cases in Great Britain across the whole of the 2025 to 2026 season.

Two points on reading that table. These are premises, not animals: one confirmed holding may have a single positive animal or many. New cases have slowed sharply: 140 premises were added between 10 and 22 October, when 66 were confirmed in England on 10 October alone, and none were confirmed anywhere in the UK on 22 October. Fewer daily confirmations do not prove transmission has stopped, as counts also depend on reporting and testing. South-west England still carries the heaviest load: the same GOV.UK page puts Devon at 1,290 confirmed premises, Cornwall at 369 and Somerset at 350, with Lancashire the largest outside the south west at 232. It also lists 57 potential cases under investigation across Great Britain, down from 508 on 10 October, where the keeper has either chosen not to take samples or is still waiting for results.

The whole of England is a bluetongue restricted zone, Wales has had a country-wide restricted zone since November 2025, and from 3 October 2026 the restricted zone covers all of Scotland too. Northern Ireland has no confirmed premises this season, and restrictions on moves to Northern Ireland remain in place. That is why movement planning matters: a move that was simple in one month can become rule-bound in the next.

The practical farm rule is plain: before moving cattle, sheep, goats, deer, camelids or germinal products, check the live source. Do not rely on the memory of a previous sale, previous test, or previous licence.

What bluetongue is, and why livestock farms should care

GOV.UK’s bluetongue guidance describes bluetongue as a notifiable disease caused by infection with bluetongue virus. It is mainly spread by biting midges. It affects sheep, cattle, other ruminants such as deer and goats, and camelids such as llamas and alpacas.

It does not affect people or food safety. That point matters for public confidence. But it can still cause prolonged animal movement and trade restrictions, and those restrictions can be enough to turn an ordinary livestock job into a planning problem.

Sheep are usually more likely than cattle to show obvious signs. GOV.UK lists signs including ulcers or sores in the mouth and nose, discharge from the eyes or nose, drooling, swelling of the lips, tongue, head, neck or coronary band, fever, lameness, breathing problems, abortion, foetal deformities, stillbirths and death. Affected cattle can be harder to spot, which is why the disease cannot be treated as a sheep-only worry.

Report suspicion before the holding starts guessing

Bluetongue is notifiable. If keepers suspect it, the job is to report it, not to run an informal diagnosis chain around the yard. Official guidance says keepers must keep a close watch and report any suspicion of disease in their animals.

The awkward cases are the dangerous ones: one lame animal, a few abortions, odd mouth lesions, a calf or lamb that does not look right, a group that is just “off”. Those are exactly the moments where farms can lose time because nobody wants the disruption of a report.

That is the wrong way round. The earlier the report route is used, the cleaner the farm’s position is. BritFarmers’ guide on what happens when you report a notifiable disease explains the wider logic.

Movement rules are the part that catches busy farms

When disease restrictions sit over normal livestock trade, the mistakes tend to happen on routine jobs: a market movement, a show entry, a sale animal, a breeding move, a slaughter booking, or a cross-border move made under pressure.

The official movement page — Bluetongue: moving animals within the restricted zone — is the source to check before moving animals. It covers movements within restricted zones, markets, shows and designated slaughterhouses.

Within England, moves to markets, shows, slaughterhouses and other holdings do not need a specific licence or pre-movement test, but they must meet the conditions of general licence EXD612(E), and that licence does not cover moving animals out of a restricted zone. Holdings under an APHA restriction notice follow separate rules.

Moving animals from one restricted zone to another, for example from England into Wales or Scotland, uses general licence EXD671(GB), and the destination nation’s own guidance on licences and pre-movement tests also applies. A new version of EXD671(GB) was published on 23 October 2026. GOV.UK’s instruction is to use the latest version, meet every condition, carry a copy during the move and check stock for signs of disease before loading.

Scotland changed on 3 October. The Scottish Government extended its restricted zone to the whole country, so movement licences into, within and out of the former south-west Scotland zone are no longer needed. Rules that remain include: an animal showing clinical signs on the day of movement must not be moved, animals on affected premises are restricted there for 60 days, freezing germinal products requires the donor animals to be tested, and restrictions on moves to Northern Ireland stay in place.

This is also where England, Wales and Scotland differences matter. A farm near a border should not treat “UK rules” as one neat block. Check the destination, not just the holding of origin, and check Northern Ireland’s rules separately before any move across the Irish Sea.

Vaccination is a vet conversation, not a social-media decision

The May 2025 government update on the all-England restricted zone said bluetongue serotype 3 vaccines were available and that farmers were strongly encouraged to discuss their use with their private vet. Scotland’s agriculture minister repeated the point when announcing the nationwide Scottish zone, effective from 3 October: “Vaccination remains the single most effective way for farmers to protect their animals from the worst effects of bluetongue.” That is a sensible frame: vaccination is a herd-health and movement-risk conversation, not a blanket slogan.

Buy vaccine through the proper route. On 13 October the Veterinary Medicines Directorate warned keepers not to buy, sell or swap leftover BTV-3 vaccine through social media, online marketplaces or private deals. BTV-3 vaccines are prescription-only medicines, and one keeper cannot legally supply them to another, even where a vet has prescribed them for the recipient. Buying online needs a valid prescription and a retailer on the VMD’s register of authorised online retailers. Vets can use one bottle across different owners’ animals, but only within the 10-hour broach period, and the VMD urges caution because bluetongue is blood-borne.

The questions for the vet are practical. Which species are on the holding? What is the local risk? Are animals going to markets, shows or breeding sales? Are there pregnant animals? What does the product label allow? What record should be kept? What does the farm need to do before sale or movement?

The right decision on a closed small flock may not be the same as the right decision on a trading cattle or sheep unit. The important point is to make the decision deliberately before the risk period tightens.

Mixed farms should put bluetongue on the office list

For mixed farms, bluetongue can feel like a livestock-corner problem until movement restrictions interfere with the rest of the business. Staff time, loading, markets, vet visits, sales, grazing plans and cash flow all sit around the disease-control rule.

That is why the checklist belongs in the farm office, not only in the livestock shed. Write down who checks the live page before movements, who calls the vet, who reports suspicion, where holding details are stored, and what happens if a sale animal becomes questionable at the wrong moment.

For wider livestock context, BritFarmers’ UK livestock farming guide, UK sheep farming guide and lambing guide are useful background. Bluetongue itself, though, must be run from the current official pages.

Bottom line

Bluetongue planning is not complicated, but it is unforgiving if left to memory. Check the live situation page, watch susceptible stock, report suspicion, read the movement page before sales or shows, and talk vaccination through with the vet before the holding is under time pressure.

The disease may not affect food safety, but it can still affect movements, trade and the working week. That is enough reason to treat it as a proper farm-office job.

FAQ

How many bluetongue cases are there in the UK in 2026?

GOV.UK reports 3,441 confirmed affected premises in the 2026 to 2027 season to midnight on 22 October 2026: 2,895 in England, 492 in Wales, 54 in Scotland and none in Northern Ireland. The figure is premises, not animals, and is updated daily.

Is all of Scotland a bluetongue restricted zone?

Yes. From 3 October 2026 the restricted zone covers the whole of Scotland, so movement licences are no longer needed for moves within Scotland. Other rules remain, including that animals with clinical signs must not be moved, affected premises stay restricted for 60 days, and moves to Northern Ireland remain restricted.

Is bluetongue notifiable in the UK?

Yes. GOV.UK describes bluetongue as a notifiable disease. Keepers should report suspicion rather than waiting for certainty.

Does bluetongue affect people or food safety?

GOV.UK says bluetongue does not affect people or food safety, but outbreaks can lead to animal movement and trade restrictions.

Should farmers vaccinate against bluetongue?

Farmers should discuss vaccination with their private vet. The answer depends on species, risk, movement plans, local disease pressure and product use.

Update log

26 October 2026: case figures updated to midnight 22 October (3,441 premises) with county figures and cases under investigation; EXD671(GB) moves between restricted zones and the VMD warning on second-hand BTV-3 vaccine added.

12 October 2026: rewritten for the 2026 to 2027 season. Case table (3,301 confirmed premises to 10 October) replaces the May snapshot from the previous season; Scotland’s whole-country restricted zone from 3 October and England’s general licence EXD612(E) added to the movement section; two FAQs added.

6 August 2026: page created.