[kevkev57]

Just got our first case of blue tongue disease.  A four year old who has just given birth to three. I have to look back at my records, but I could have sworn this one was vaccinated last spring. Mind you it does not always seem to work.  I had one young one, around 12 weeks that had Blue tongue, and survived. Also survived a Toyota pick up running into it , but thats another story.

Belgium was the worst hit last year, and we happen to live in the worst ' hot spot '. Plenty of damp wet areas with high temps in spring, just the right condition for the little pesky culprit.

Talk here is of a bad year again for this nasty disease.

It would happen to one of the only sheep we havr named.   Big Bertha.
Kevin
 Belgian Ardennes

[shetlandpaul]

Maybe its that new strain spreading. I really hope it does not get up here. we have an amazing number of midges. step out for a minute and your itching for days. Don't they have the same slaughter rules in Belgium. At the moment were exempt because of our health controls. but if it was up here it would wipe out the sheep industry up here.

[kevkev57]

Most EU rules and regs are ' made in Belgium ' but no one really follows them.....we leave that for you. Tagging is a vague affair, a kind of ' well if you want to '  Belgians generally ignore rules, unless it suits them !

Here we need vaccine type 8 for northern europe.. Its just on the market for Spain, and hopefully here soon. Too late for ' big bertha ' the vaccine given last year was basically useless.

I just spoke to a friend in the next village, and he has lost three in the past week, two were pregnant. So here we go again.

kevin
Belgian Ardennes

[shetlandpaul]

nasty. Sorry to hear it. There is no cull rule then.