Guidance

General licence for bluetongue serotype 3 (BTV-3) vaccine

Licence conditions of the general licence in England.

• From: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
• Published: 14 February 2025

Applies to England

• Guidance for Wales

You must comply with all conditions of the general licence before vaccinating, including reporting your use of the BTV-3 vaccine. It is against the law to use the vaccine without reporting it.

General licence for using inactivated bluetongue 3 vaccine in England

General licence for using inactivated bluetongue 3 vaccine in England

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Advisory note for veterinarians

Veterinarians in England should read the advisory note before prescribing any BTV-3 vaccine.

When you should use this licence

Defra’s Secretary of State has permitted the use of 3 unauthorised bluetongue serotype 3 (BTV-3) vaccines within the United Kingdom, subject to licence. You must comply with the conditions of this licence when vaccinating any animal with the BTV-3 vaccine.

This general licence only allows vaccination in England. There is a separate general licence for Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have not licensed the use of vaccination for BTV-3 but will keep this position under review.

Although these vaccines are not authorised, the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) has assessed them. They consider the vaccines to be of a consistent quality and safety, and efficacy has been demonstrated. Therefore, they meet the administration criteria under Schedule 4 of the Veterinary Medicine Regulations 2013 (VMR 2013).

Unlike the authorised vaccines for other BTV serotypes, the BTV-3 vaccines claim to reduce viraemia rather than prevent it. This means they may not prevent your animals from being infected or infectious, but (depending on the vaccine) their claims include reduction or prevention of clinical signs experienced or mortality.

For this reason, all movement controls and trade restrictions still apply to vaccinated animals. You should not test vaccinated animals as part of a pre-movement test in bluetongue zones until 7 days after their vaccination. This will prevent interference with BTV-3 monitoring. 

Discuss the merits of vaccination for your animals and business with your private veterinarian.

If you have previously applied for a specific licence to vaccinate your animals against BTV-3, you can either use the:  

• specific licence while it is valid 
• general licence instead

Get help

For help with this form, email btv3vaccine@defra.gov.uk

Published 14 February 2025