Farmers across Cumbria, Cheshire and Lancashire are tightening routines after fresh bluetongue positives were logged in January. Defra’s running tally for the 2025 season stands at 284 cases in Great Britain as of Saturday 1 February 2026, following an update that added two confirmations from 30 January including a bovine in Cumbria under breeding controls. (gov.uk)

England accounts for 263 of those detections, Wales has 21, and there are no cases recorded in Scotland. Northern Ireland has four confirmed BTV‑3 cases, with controls in County Down managed by DAERA. (gov.uk)

For the North, January’s reports underline the picture on the ground: Cheshire saw two bovines with nose ulcers, swelling and lameness on 22 January; Staffordshire reported three cows amid a spate of abortions on 19 January; Lancashire recorded one bovine the same day; Derbyshire confirmed an aborted calf on 16 January. Cumbria’s 30 January detection came through artificial breeding checks. (gov.uk)

With temperatures down, officials judge onward spread by biting midges to be negligible in the north‑east, though infection from already infected midges or germinal products remains possible. Overall incursion risk from all routes is still classed as medium, while airborne risk is negligible. (gov.uk)

For day‑to‑day movements, the whole of England is within a bluetongue restricted zone. Moves within England do not require a specific bluetongue licence or pre‑movement tests provided you meet the general licence conditions. (gov.uk)

Wales has operated an all‑Wales restricted zone since 00:01 on 10 November 2025. Livestock can move between England and Wales without bluetongue vaccination, but keepers must continue testing donor animals for germinal products to reduce longer‑term transmission risk. (gov.wales)

If you’re freezing or moving semen, embryos or ova, a specific licence is required in England-plan ahead and budget for the paperwork. Applications and guidance are live on GOV.UK, with APHA support if needed. (gov.uk)

Vaccination is now part of the toolkit. Three authorised BTV‑3 vaccines-Bluevac‑3, Bultavo 3 and SYVAZUL BTV 3-are available in Great Britain, subject to the relevant licence and reporting. Farmers should book early with their vet and log use as required. (gov.uk)

Watch stock closely during calving and lambing. The recent case notes include abortions, milk drop, drooling, facial swelling, and congenital issues in newborn calves. The disease does not affect people or food safety, but it can hit productivity and youngstock hard. Act fast on anything out of the ordinary and make a note of dates, tags and symptoms. (gov.uk)

Moves to Scotland or out of restricted zones are covered by specific general licences-check the latest versions before loading. For movements touching Northern Ireland, DAERA has its own licence conditions and advice. (gov.uk)

To plan grazing and sales, use Defra’s live case map to understand the pattern of detections near you, and keep APHA’s number handy-03000 200 301 in England, 03003 038 268 in Wales-for any suspicion or camelid queries. (defra.maps.arcgis.com)

For context, the current vector season began with a 11 July 2025 BTV‑3 confirmation. Before that, Defra recorded 163 cases between August 2024 and May 2025, including a BTV‑12 detection on 7 February 2025; earlier BTV‑3 detections ran November 2023 to March 2024, while a separate BTV‑8 outbreak was last seen in 2007–08. (gov.uk)