Stricter BVD measures to be applied in NI from February

The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has reminded cattle herd keepers that the next phase of bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) controls will take effect from Sunday.

From February 1, 2026, herd restrictions will be applied immediately once any animal in a herd records a positive or inconclusive BVD virus test result.

This means there will no longer be a grace period prior to restrictions being applied.

These measures form part of the phased programme of BVD measures introduced under the BVD Control Order (Northern Ireland) 2024, which came into force on February 1, 2025.

DAERA Minister Andrew Muir said: “BVD is a serious and highly contagious disease of cattle which affects their productivity and compromises their welfare.

“Over recent years, herd keepers across Northern Ireland have worked hard to reduce the impact of this disease, but we now need to take the further steps to secure eradication.

“The stricter measures coming into effect on February 1 are designed to quickly address infection risks by preventing the movement of potentially BVD infected animals, and protect the progress we have made so far.

“In doing so, we will help to stop new persistently infected calves being born and protect neighbouring farms.”

Minister Muir also advised herd keepers to “take prompt action, isolate and remove infection sources, and ensure all animals are tested on time”.

“By acting decisively and working together, we can safeguard animal welfare, reduce financial losses to farms, and complete the job of eliminating BVD from Northern Ireland once and for all,” he said.

Planned movement restrictions

The implementation of additional planned movement restrictions on breeding age females (at least 12 months-of-age) in herds where a BVD-positive animal has been detected has been postponed for a few weeks.

According to DAERA, this is due to a slight delay in changes being made to the department’s database, which are required to manage the application and removal of these restrictions.

Communications in coming weeks will confirm when these restrictions on breeding age females will be implemented.

Additional information on the measures is available on the DAERA website.

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