Great Britain's Worst Bluetongue Season on Record

Great Britain's 2025-26 bluetongue season has been the worst on record, The Guardian reported on 3 November. Some 3,472 cases have been recorded in England, Scotland and Wales since July, more than five times the total of the past three seasons combined.

Bluetongue is a viral disease that affects sheep, cattle and goats. In animals it can cause fever, lesions, stillbirths and death. It does not affect humans, and it does not affect the safety of meat or milk. The virus originated in Africa and is spread by biting midges, which are tiny biting flies.

The strain now affecting livestock is a variant known as serotype 3, or BTV-3. It was first found in England in 2023. There is no direct treatment for the disease, according to Dr Gwen Rees, president of the British Veterinary Association, who told MPs the outbreak was a major animal welfare crisis.

The south-west of England has been hardest hit. Devon recorded 1,291 cases, Somerset 373 and Cornwall 352. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) counts a case as a premises, meaning a farm or other holding, where at least one animal with bluetongue is present.

The toll on farmers has also been large. Catherine McLaughlin, chief animal health and welfare adviser at the National Farmers Union, told MPs the outbreak had placed farmers under severe emotional pressure and stress.

In September, the government introduced a vet-led approach, in which veterinarians lead the response, intended to give farmers faster diagnosis and shorten waiting times for confirmation of cases. Defra has also said that cases are increasing across Great Britain.

The most recent official update lists two new cases confirmed in England on 29 October. Both were BTV-3, with one in sheep and one in cattle.