The UK is in a seasonally vector low period. This means the risk of transmission of bluetongue is now very low. You must still have a licence to move animals out of a restricted zone.

During the seasonally vector low period, movements are permitted under licence directly from the restricted zone to premises in England, Scotland or Wales.

If moving to slaughter you must comply with the conditions of the General Licence, or for movements to another premises, you must comply with the conditions of a specific licence subject to pre-movement testing with negative results.

If you are moving a pregnant female that was inseminated 6 months or more before the move, you will need a negative serology test as well as a negative PCR test. You do not need to do post-movement tests.

If testing is required, samples can be taken within 21 days of the movement.  This period maybe reduced as we approach the end of the seasonally vector low period. The rules for testing offspring travelling at foot with their dam have been eased.

References to animals means ruminants (for example, cattle, sheep, goats, deer and other ruminants) and camelids (for example, llamas and alpacas).

Check guidance on GOV.WALES for moving animals from the restricted zone into Wales

Certain movements are not permitted in a bluetongue zone or from premises which have been served a bluetongue premises or individual animal restriction notice.

Some movements may be permitted by a general licence, or you can apply for a specific licence.

You may need to:

Check carefully that the bluetongue general licence applies to you before making a movement and always download the latest version as they are updated from time to time. A copy should accompany any animals moved under the general licence.

General licences do not apply if your premises is under a bluetongue restriction notice. If you have been served a bluetongue premises or individual animal restriction notice and want to move animals, you can apply for a specific licence.

General licence	What it is for
EXD634 (GB) (PDF, 147 KB, 4 pages)	For movements of animals kept within a restricted zone (RZ) to a dedicated slaughter market in England or direct to a slaughterhouse in Great Britain for the purpose of immediate slaughter.

You can apply for a specific licence if you need to move stock out of the restricted zone and a general licence does not apply to your circumstances.

Allow at least 10 days for your licence application to be processed where possible. Complex and high-risk movements will need extra time to process. You should apply as early as possible.

Make contingency plans to allow for the time it takes to be issued. Consider what steps you will need to take if the licence is refused or cannot be issued in time. 

If a specific licence is issued, it will allow a movement that is subject to certain conditions based on disease control risk.

You may need to organise pre-movement testing of your animals. APHA will provide instructions when you apply for a licence. Find out how to get free bluetongue testing for your animals.

Premises that have any land within the restricted zone or straddle the boundary are classified as being within the zone.

If the dam tests negative for bluetongue, we are permitting offspring born on or after 1 December 2024 to travel at foot with the dam without pre-movement testing. The animals must not be showing clinical signs of bluetongue at the time of sampling or movement. These animals can move from the RZ into England, Scotland or Wales. This is only permitted during the SVLP.

Take precautions when moving animals. Check your stock for possible signs of disease before loading.

You can use EXD634 (GB) (PDF, 147 KB, 4 pages) for movements of animals kept within a restricted zone (RZ):

The declaration of the bluetongue restricted zone (RZ) also imposed a bluetongue Infected Area which applies to the same geographical area as the RZ which restricts the movement of animals on and off premises and in or out of the Infected Area. This licence EXD612(E) (GL) is published to overcome legal restrictions that would otherwise prevent movement of animals. This does not remove any obligations to comply with BTV movement restrictions and licences and does not permit the movement of animals out of a RZ.

You must apply for a specific licence if you need to move germinal products from susceptible animals out of the zone, or you wish to freeze germinal products in the zone. If you operate a germinal product collection centre you may apply to be designated.

APHA will issue a notice to the keeper or occupier that explains the restrictions that are in place.

You can apply for a specific licence if:

If APHA approves a welfare licence, the animals will be placed under restriction. APHA may ask you to organise a visit by your private vet, at your cost, to take samples from the animals after they have moved. The samples will be tested free of charge.

Slaughterhouses do not need to be designated to slaughter animals that originate from a bluetongue restricted zone during the seasonally vector low period.

Published 26 April 2024
Last updated 21 February 2025 + show all updates