Graham is calling on the Government to make sure farmers can get bluetongue vaccines when they need them as the disease spreads towards East Yorkshire.
Graham raised the threat with Clare Wise, Chair of the National Farmers’ Union’s National Livestock Board, during a meeting with the NFU in Parliament.
Bluetongue is a virus spread by biting midges that affects sheep, cattle and other livestock. It can cause serious illness and death, particularly in sheep. It does not affect people or food safety.
Clare warned Graham that bluetongue has been moving across the country and is expected to reach East Yorkshire. She urged livestock farmers to speak to their vets about vaccination and take the threat seriously.
Graham was concerned to hear from the NFU that farmers seeking to vaccinate can face waits of around three weeks for vaccine.
He has now written to the Government asking what assessment DEFRA has made of current vaccine availability and what action it is taking with manufacturers and the veterinary sector to improve supplies.
Graham has also asked what preparations are being made for next spring so sufficient vaccine is available before farmers face an immediate threat.
Graham is urging livestock farmers in Beverley and Holderness to speak to their vet now about bluetongue and vaccination.
Graham said:
“Bluetongue is heading towards East Yorkshire and farmers need to take it seriously.
“The clear advice I heard from the NFU is for livestock farmers to speak to their vet about vaccination.
“But we cannot tell farmers to vaccinate their animals and then leave them waiting weeks to get the vaccine they need.
“That’s why I’ve written to the Government asking what it is doing to improve supplies now and, crucially, what preparations it is making for next spring.
“This is about protecting animal welfare, protecting farm businesses and protecting our food supply.
“Our farmers need to know that if they do the responsible thing and decide to vaccinate, the vaccine will be there when they need it.”
Graham's Letter in Full:
Dear Secretary of State,
Following discussions with the National Farmers' Union in Parliament, I am writing about the spread of bluetongue and, in particular, concerns about farmers' ability to obtain vaccine quickly.
In that conversation, Clare Wise, Vice-chair of the NFU's National Livestock Board and currently acting Livestock Board chair, warned me that this season's outbreak is on a different scale to anything farmers have previously faced. There have already been 973 confirmed cases of BTV-3 in the UK since the season began on 10 July 2026 — more than the entire 2025-26 season's total of 348 cases, and nearly eight times the 126 cases recorded when BTV-3 first reached the UK in 2023-24. Thirty new cases were confirmed in England on 7 September alone, and the disease has now been confirmed in East Yorkshire.
The clear advice to livestock farmers is to take the threat seriously, speak to their vet and consider vaccination. However, I was concerned to hear that farmers seeking to do exactly that can face delays in obtaining vaccine, with the NFU telling me that supplies are being manufactured to order and waits can be around three weeks.
That risks leaving farmers in an impossible position. Vaccination costs in the region of £3 per sheep and £6 per beast for cattle, a modest sum against the scale of animal losses bluetongue can cause — yet we cannot urge farmers to bear even that cost while failing to ensure that vaccine is actually available when they need it.
The Farming Minister told the House on 3 September that the Government "has acted quickly to secure increased vaccine supply." Given the scale of this year's outbreak compared with previous seasons, I would be grateful if you could set out what that actually means in practice: what assessment DEFRA has made of current bluetongue vaccine availability, whether there are parts of the country — including East Yorkshire — where farmers are experiencing significant waits, and what specific action is being taken with manufacturers and the veterinary sector to improve availability and cut those waiting times.
Preparations for next spring are another area where clarity would help. The NFU was particularly clear with me that it wants Government help to ensure adequate supplies are available in good time, rather than farmers having to wait for vaccine once the threat is already upon them — especially with case numbers rising at this rate.
This matters for animal welfare, individual farm businesses and our wider food security. Livestock disease is precisely the sort of risk for which we should be preparing before it becomes a crisis.
East Yorkshire has a significant livestock sector and, with bluetongue now confirmed in the county and this year's outbreak already dwarfing previous seasons, farmers need confidence that, if they take the responsible decision to vaccinate, they will be able to get the vaccine when they need it.
I ask that you give an urgent update on the steps DEFRA is taking to secure sufficient bluetongue vaccine supplies, both for the immediate threat and ahead of next spring, so that I can reassure worried farmers in my constituency that action is being taken.
Yours sincerely,
Graham Stuart MP
