Farmer survey to reveal on-farm impact of bluetongue
A nationwide survey has been launched to better understand how the bluetongue virus is affecting UK farms.
Results will inform the support that farmers receive for bluetongue, as well as preparing the livestock industry for the future.
The short online survey is open to all livestock farmers, regardless of whether they’ve had a confirmed case of bluetongue on their farm. It asks how many animals have been affected, the severity of their clinical signs and how it has impacted farm business.
The survey takes five minutes to complete and is fully anonymous.
It is led by Fiona Lovatt, of Flock Health Limited, and the Ruminant Health & Welfare bluetongue working group, in collaboration with AHDB and the University of Nottingham.
Dr Lovatt says: “We need to find out what level of clinical signs farmers are seeing in their animals, whether they are experiencing mortality with BTV-3 cases, and what their appetite is to vaccinate in future for bluetongue serotype 3.”
The survey can be found here.
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