There have been eight separate instances of cattle testing positive for the bluetongue-3 virus in England in the week up to Wednesday alone.

Testing carried out on foot of reported birth defects and pre-movement controls found 18 bluetongue-3 positive cattle since 13 March.

All cattle confirmed positive for the virus were in restricted zones – Herefordshire, West Sussex, Essex, Norfolk, Devon, East Sussex and Hampshire.

There has been a total of 240 bluetongue-3 cases detected in England over the 2024-2025 vector season and another two detected in Wales, both of which were traced to high-risk livestock movements.