Imports to be tested after case of bluetongue

ALL cattle and sheep recently imported from the North are being traced and tested for bluetongue after it was confirmed a dairy cow shipped to an Antrim farm from the Netherlands tested positive for the disease.

Agriculture Minister Mary Coughlan, who ordered the move, said she had also decided that cattle and sheep from the North other than those going direct to slaughter, will have a post-importation test for bluetongue, as is currently the case for cattle being imported from other places.

“Despite having done in excess of 1,700 post-importation tests, no bluetongue has been detected in this country,” she said.