British farmers face worst-ever bluetongue outbreak as record 2,485 cases dwarf three previous seasons combined

From the Newshound archive · first published 3 October 2026 · last updated 4 October 2026.

Britain's bluetongue crisis has reached unprecedented levels, with 2,485 confirmed cases recorded in just three months of the 2026-27 season — a figure that already exceeds the tallies from the three preceding seasons added together. The agency attributes the surge to an exceptionally hot, humid summer, which gave the biting midges that carry the disease optimal breeding and activity conditions. The National Farmers' Union is urging all livestock keepers to vaccinate their animals without delay.

Serotype BTV-3, the strain currently circulating, made its first appearance in England in 2023 and has since spread as far north as Aberdeenshire in Scotland.

Bluetongue can cause fever, ulcers, head swelling and lameness, and kills a proportion of the sheep, deer and wild ruminants it infects.

Farmers with infected animals face a grim choice: costly treatment or the unwanted culling of their flocks and herds.