Stricter BVD measures to be applied from 1 February 2026
Date published:
The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) is reminding herd keepers that the next phase of Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) controls will take effect from 1 February 2026.
From this date, 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 (NI) 2024, which came into force on 1 February 2025 and which aim to contribute to the eradication of this disease in Northern Ireland.
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 1 February 2026 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 concluded: “My message to herd keepers is clear - 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.”
Implementation of additional planned movement restrictions on breeding age females (at least 12-months old) in herds where a BVD-positive animal has been detected, have been postponed for a few weeks. 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.
Further communications in the next few weeks will confirm when these restrictions on breeding age females will be implemented.
Further details of the measures, how and when they will be applied and how to reduce their impact is available on the DAERA website.
Notes to editors:
- BVD is mainly spread by persistently infected (PI) cattle, which are born with the disease, having come into contact with the virus in the womb. The virus can spread by other routes, including transiently infected cattle, who shed virus for 2 to 3 weeks, after which they recover.
- From 1 February 2026 herd restrictions are applied immediately following a positive (BVDP) or inconclusive (BVDI) result. BVDP restrictions will remain until:
- 21 days after the removal of the last BVDP animal; and
- all animals in the herd over 30 days old have a negative test result (BVDN or INDNEG).
- Herd restrictions will prohibit all moves into the herd, and all moves out except to direct slaughter. In exceptional cases, DAERA may allow BVD negative status animals to move in or out under licence. Where herd restrictions are applied, the same restrictions will also be applied to herds which are linked on NIFAIS due to common disease risks (associated herds).
- A pregnant animal, which is carrying a BVD infected calf is referred to as a ‘trojan’. These animals are a very important route by which BVD virus can enter a previously uninfected farm. In a herd which has recently had a BVD positive animal, all pregnant females should be considered high-risk animals.
- The application and removal of ‘trojan’ restrictions are not possible without changes being made to the Department’s NIFAIS database. Testing of the database changes is still ongoing, and therefore a decision was taken to delay the implementation of these additional measures until the Department is assured that they can be rolled out smoothly.
- When ‘trojan’ restrictions are implemented in the next few weeks, all females of breeding age (at least 12-months old), in herds with BVD positive animals, will be restricted to the herd for 41 weeks following the removal of the last BVD positive animal. The restriction of individual females will be lifted earlier if any of the following conditions apply:
- the restricted female has a calf which has been BVD tested with a negative result;
- the restricted female tested positive for BVD antibodies at an approved laboratory from a blood sample taken within the previous 12 months and before the insemination preceding its current gestation; or
- the restricted female tested negative for BVD antibodies, on a blood sample taken at least 21 days after the day on which the last bovine in the herd with a positive test result was removed.
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