From 1 July 2025, the RZ (restricted zone) was extended to cover all of England. Keepers can move cattle, sheep, all ruminants and camelids within England without a bluetongue licence or testing.
The RZ has been extended following recognition between industry and scientists that ‘the area of England where disease has been found is now too large for movement restrictions to remain an effective and proportionate way of controlling the disease’.
Read: GOV.UK | Bluetongue virus restricted zone to be extended to all of England on 1 July 2025
The NFU will be hosting a national webinar to brief members on what the restrictions mean in practice on 23 June at 12pm.
Sign up
BTV control policy in Wales
Welsh Government has now announced that from 20 June, cattle fully vaccinated with Boehringer Ingelheim’s Bultavo-3 vaccine will be allowed to move under licence from a RZ (Restricted Zone) to Wales without a pre-movement test.
This announcement does not cover the movement of sheep – these must all be pre-movement tested and require a licence to move into Wales to live from the RZ in England. Welsh Government has stated that this is because ‘no vaccine products currently meet the requirements for protecting sheep from BTV-3 to allow them to move out of the RZ.’ Full details are available on NFU Cymru's website.
This follows the initial announcement on 12 June, stating that new Bluetongue controls would restrict moving livestock from England into Wales without a pre-movement test, regardless of the animal's vaccination status. Full details are available in the section: Key dates.
Recognising the difficult decision made by the Deputy First Minister, NFU Cymru President Aled Jones raised concerns over the lack of resources and capacity to deliver the demand for testing and licences, at a critical time for breeding stock and store stock trade ahead of the colder months.
“We have raised these concerns directly with Welsh Government and continue to seek assurances that this policy can practically be delivered,” he said. ”We understand that going forward the costs of testing will be borne by the farmer, which will cause a huge increase to the cost of trading.”
- To read Aled's full response, visit: NFU Cymru | Welsh Government’s written statement on Bluetongue - what's been announced?
- Get the latest on Welsh policy: GOV.WALES | Bluetongue virus
BTV control policy in Scotland
Scottish Government also revealed new Bluetongue control measures on 12 June, allowing animals vaccinated with Bultavo 3 to move from the RZ (England) into Scotland without a pre-movement test. Testing for movements to Scotland will be at the keeper’s expense and must be privately arranged.
- Get information on licensing at: GOV.SCOT | Licensing – bluetongue
Key dates
| England | Wales | Scotland | |
| 12-30 June |
The current pre-movement testing exemptions will be extended until 23:59 on 30 June in England. This means you won't need to test non-breeding animals over 60 days old before moving them from the restricted zone to a premises in England. |
The current pre-movement testing exemptions remain the same until 19 June. This means you won't need to test non-breeding animals over 60 days old before moving them from the restricted zone to a premises in England. |
From 13 June 2025 any animals moving from a BTV-3 RZ to Scotland to live will require a valid pre-movement test at the keeper’s expense, or vaccination with the Boehringer Bultavo-3 vaccine for cattle. Assurance must also be provided that they do not have any clinical symptoms before they move to Scotland. Movements of sheep are currently not permitted without a negative BTV-3 pre-movement test from Pirbright even if they are vaccinated. Keepers can apply for a movement licence on gov.uk. Prior to 1 July 2025 a test is valid for 10 calendar days after the date when the sample is taken. |
| 20 June - 1 July |
N/A |
Cattle fully vaccinated with Boehringer Ingelheim’s Bultavo-3 vaccine will be allowed to move under licence from a RZ (Restricted Zone) to Wales without a pre-movement test. This announcement does not cover the movement of sheep – these must all be pre-movement tested and require a licence to move into Wales to live from the RZ in England. Keepers can apply for a movement licence on gov.uk. |
N/A |
| From 1 July |
You will be able to move animals within England without a bluetongue licence or testing. You will need to have a specific licence to freeze germinal products within the restricted zone and testing will be required. Keepers will be responsible for the cost of sampling, postage and testing. |
Cattle fully vaccinated with Boehringer Ingelheim’s Bultavo-3 vaccine will be allowed to move under licence from a RZ (Restricted Zone) to Wales without a pre-movement test. The pre-movement test must be arranged and paid for privately. Once Defra moves England to become a whole country RZ, the free testing that is currently available will end. We are waiting for confirmation on how long the pre-movement test is valid for. Currently this is 10 days but this time may shorten as temperatures warm up and we enter the active midge season. |
The current pre-movement testing requirements remain the same. This means animals moving from a BTV-3 RZ to Scotland to live will require a valid pre-movement test at the keeper’s expense, or vaccination with the Boehringer Bultavo-3 vaccine for cattle. Keepers can apply for a movement licence on gov.uk. On or after 1 July 2025 a test will be valid for 7 calendar days after the day when the sample is taken. |
Vaccinating your herd
If you haven’t yet vaccinated your livestock, you should speak to your private vet to determine if BTV3 vaccination is right for your animals. This is particularly important if you are not currently in the RZ.
Vaccination remains the most effective long-term approach for disease controls.
If you keep animals in England and routinely move animals into Wales or Scotland you need to check for updates at GOV.WALES and gov.scot. on what licences you will need and whether or not you will need to organise and pay for a pre-movement test.
Read: BTV3 vaccination update and usage reminder
Pre-movement testing exemptions
Easing of pre-movement testing has been in place since 26 March. These exemptions have been extended to 30 June, although they will remain under review.
Within this timeframe, testing of non-breeding animals over the age of 60 days before being moved out of the restricted zone, is not required.
The government has also changed the length of time that pre-movement test samples are valid for, from 21 days to 10 days. This came into effect on 27 May 2025.
It is advisable to time your sampling so that the samples are still valid on the planned move date. GOV.UK states that, samples taken:
- until 11:59pm on 26 May 2025 are valid for 21 days
- on or after 27 May 2025 are valid for 10 days
Pre-movement testing is only applicable to:
- entire males intended for breeding
- females that are pregnant or have unknown pregnancy status
- youngstock if they are aged 60 days or younger at the time of the movement, unless they are travelling at foot with the maternal dam – in this case, you can test the maternal dam by PCR and ELISA.
More detail is available at: GOV.UK | Bluetongue: news, information and guidance for livestock keepers
Movements out of restricted zones
Specific movement licences are still required for animals moving out of the RZ (restricted zone).
Movement restrictions apply to:
- all ruminants and camelids moving out of the zone and,
- to the movement of their germinal products within the zone.
Moving to market
Animals may be moved into a market within the zone, but on leaving the market cannot be moved to premises out of the zone.
Moves to markets outside the zones are not currently allowed, except to approved ‘red’ (slaughter) markets.
If you would like to move and sell animals originating from bluetongue restricted zones through slaughter market outside the zone you must:
- Ensure the market is approved. Currently approved slaughter markets can be found at: GOV.UK | Bluetongue approved slaughter markets and designated breeding sales.
- Comply with the condition of general licence EXD627(E) for movements to an approved market
- Follow conditions of the general licence EXD628 (E) for movements from approved slaughter markets to the abattoir for immediate slaughter.
General licences
Animals within the TCZ, RZ or outside of the zones (FA) are allowed to move under general licence to other premises within the restricted zone. This includes to abattoirs within the RZ.
| EXD603 (E) | is the general licence for movements of animals kept within an RZ, PZ (protection zone) or SZ (surveillance zone) to a designated slaughterhouse in England or Wales, for the purpose of immediate slaughter. |
| EXD602 (E) | is the general licence for movements of animals from within a bluetongue TCZ to a designated slaughterhouse in England for the purposes of immediate slaughter. |
| EXD601 (E) | is the general licence for movements of animals from FA or TCZ (same area as slaughterhouse) to a slaughterhouse located in a TCZ in England for the purpose of immediate slaughter. |
| EXD627 (E) | is the general licence for movements from a bluetongue zone to an approved ‘red market’ outside a bluetongue zone, for the purpose of direct sale to a designated slaughterhouse or restricted zone slaughterhouse for immediate slaughter |
| EXD628 (E) | is the general licence for movements from an approved ‘red market’ to a designated slaughterhouse or restricted zone slaughterhouse for immediate slaughter. |
Animals can also move to live either within the same TCZ or from FA to TCZ under these general licences:
| EXD610 (E) | for movements of susceptible animals between premises which are wholly or partly inside a TCZ in England. |
| EXD611 (E) | for movements of susceptible animals from a free area into a TCZ. |
| EXD612 (E) | is the general licence published to overcome legal restrictions that would otherwise prevent movement of animals. This does not remove any obligations to comply with BTV movement restrictions and licences and does not permit the movement of animals out of a RZ. |
General licences do not apply if your premises is under a bluetongue restriction notice. If you have been served a bluetongue premises or individual animal restriction notice and wish to move animals, you must apply for a specific licence. (Individual animal restrictions will be lifted on the 1 July.)
The general licence for using the inactivated BTV-3 vaccine in England can be found at: GOV.UK | General licence for bluetongue serotype 3 (BTV-3) vaccine.
For more information on general licences, visit: GOV.UK | Bluetongue movement licences and designated slaughterhouses – when you need to apply for a licence
Specific movement licences
Specific licences exempt you from disease control movement restrictions in England, Scotland and Wales. This covers any movement or activity within any current disease control zones that are not covered by a general licence.
When you might need a specific licence:
- If you need to move animals to live on premises outside of the RZ
- If you need to move germinal products from susceptible animals out of the zone, or you wish to freeze germinal products in the zone.
Applying for a specific licence:
If you need to move livestock from your holding, you should apply for a specific licence online using the licensing portal on GOV.UK. Visit: GOV.UK | Apply for an exemption from animal disease movement restrictions.
Specific licences for farmers within an RZ and with tracings are available via the licensing portal.
Find out more about bluetongue movement licences at: GOV.UK | Bluetongue: apply for a specific movement licence.
For help completing an application, or if you are unable to access the service and need to request an EXD100 form, contact APHA:
Phone: 03000 200 301
Email: [email protected]
Each movement licence is subject to its own risk assessment, meaning it can take up to five days for a licence to be granted.
Temporary land association and temporary county parish holding
When applying for a specific licence, it is important that the correct TLA and tCPH is in place.
For more information, visit: BTV – preparing for bluetongue on farm | Temporary land associations
Reporting suspected cases
Bluetongue is a notifiable animal disease. If you suspect it you must report it immediately. Failure to do so is an offence:
- England – call the Defra Rural Services Helpline on 03000 200 301.
- Wales – contact 0300 303 8268.
- Scotland – contact your local Field Services Office.
