Bluetongue case prompts warning over live-animal imports into North

Importers bringing live cattle and sheep into the North were urged today to stop after a new strain of the Bluetongue virus spread from the European mainland to England.

The Ulster Farmers’ Union said the detection of the BTV1 stain of the virus in the north of England in cattle shipped from France was a significant warning to local importers not to put the industry at risk of the disease from imports.