Guidance

Bluetongue serotype 3 (BTV-3) vaccine: information for keepers

Information about the availability of BTV-3 vaccines for animal keepers.

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

Three BTV-3 vaccines have been permitted for use. Two of these have been granted a marketing authorisation by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD), and the third is unauthorised. You can only use these vaccines if your use is compliant with a valid licence or declaration.

For more information on the BTV-3 vaccines including permits and licences visit Bluetongue serotype 3 (BTV-3) vaccination.

Where you can use the BTV-3 vaccines 

You can use these vaccines in:

Northern Ireland has not licensed the use of BTV-3 vaccines but will keep this position under review.

Important information for vets

In addition to your responsibility to inform the relevant authorities of any adverse effects that you notice, the UK and Wales Chief Veterinary Officers have published an advisory note for England and an advisory note for Wales. These ask for your cooperation to keep records of the bluetongue vaccine doses that you order, supply and prescribe.  

Vets should notify Defra within 7 days of prescribing the vaccine using the prescription of the BTV-3 vaccine reporting form.

Deciding whether to vaccinate

Work with your vet to determine if BTV-3 vaccination is right for your animals. 

Reasons you might want to vaccinate include:

  • having high-value stock, high production units, rare breeds or smallholdings
  • if the impact of reduced productivity, abortions or reduced animal welfare could affect conservation efforts

You can also check the Battle Bluetongue campaign for more information on making vaccination decisions.

Keep a record of your vaccinations 

Your vet must prescribe the vaccine, but you, the animal keeper, can administer the vaccine to your animals. You are reminded to use safe practice. 

When you use a BTV-3 vaccination you must:  

Moving vaccinated animals

All movement controls and trade restrictions are the same for BTV-3 vaccinated animals as for unvaccinated animals.  

You should not test vaccinated animals as part of a pre-movement test in bluetongue zones until at least 7 days after their vaccination. This will prevent interference with BTV-3 monitoring. 

There is some risk that individual countries could take a precautionary approach regarding trade in products from vaccinated animals. Defra does not judge this to be a major concern, particularly given current use of these vaccines on the continent. There are no known trading restrictions on products of animal origin from vaccinated animals. If restrictions were applied, we would engage with trade partners to try to mitigate these.

Updates to this page

Published 1 October 2024
Last updated 30 April 2025 show all updates
  1. Two BTV-3 vaccines have been granted marketing authorisation by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate. Unauthorised vaccines can continue to be imported into Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) until October 2025. You can continue to use unauthorised vaccines under permit until their expiry date, as long as they were bought on the British market.

  2. The general licence for bluetongue serotype 3 (BTV-3) now applies to all counties in England.

  3. First published.

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