Mad cow disease (BSE): What you need to know
Recently, a case of BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy), commonly known as mad cow disease, was identified on a farm in Ayrshire on Friday, May 10th, 2024. As a result, Scottish Government have implemented precautionary movement restrictions at the farm of the affected animals’ origin, as well as three other sites where cattle had access to the same feed. The case was identified through routine surveillance and control measures.
Symptoms of BSE:
Cattle affected by BSE may show various signs over a period of weeks or months, including:
- Change in behaviour.
- Nervousness or apprehension.
- Exaggerated reactions to touch or sound.
- Weakness, particularly in the hind legs.
- Reluctance to move through doors, or near drains.
- Aggression towards humans or other cattle.
- Manic behaviour during milking.
- Holding head low.
- Difficulty in rising.
- Tremors under the skin.
- Loss of body condition, weight, or milk yield.
- Excessive nose licking.
BSE infects cattle and attacks their central nervous system, often proving fatal. Cows over the age of four that die on farm are routinely tested for BSE. If you notice any of these symptoms in your herd, it’s crucial to notify the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) immediately.
How is BSE spread?
BSE is spread through contaminated feed. The inedible parts of a cow’s carcass are cooked, dried, and ground into powder, which is then used in various products, including animal feed. Cattle become infected by consuming contaminated feed, which contains abnormal prions from sick cows. Typically, a cow infected with BSE won’t show signs until it’s five years old or older, even though it likely ingested contaminated feed during its first year of life.
How Herdwatch can help with movement records:
Register OFF movements in seconds by simply tapping on the animals you plan to move. Herdwatch will notify CTS or APHIS instantly and you will be compliant.
Register ON movements by simply scanning the barcode on the animal passport using the smart bar-code scanner in the Herdwatch app. This will notify BCMS or APHIS and pull down all the animal details for you automatically.
Correct data sent promptly compliance is a critical part of a Beef enterprise, therefore it is critical that the correct movement data is sent on time and in a format that is acceptable to BCMS or APHIS. Herdwatch can do this for you.
Report death of a registered animal simply pick the animal that died and send that to BCMS through Herdwatch. You then have 7 days to return the animal’s passport to BCMS.