Bluetongue continues to be a serious concern for livestock keepers across Great Britain. As farmers speak to their vets, assess the risk to their animals and consider vaccination, there is another important job to manage: maintaining a clear record of every animal vaccinated. That is where iLivestock can help.
As of 31 August 2026, the government had recorded 783 premises affected by bluetongue virus serotype 3 (BTV-3) during the UK’s 2026–27 bluetongue season. Confirmed cases included premises in England, Wales and Scotland.
The situation, and the rules affecting livestock movements, can change quickly. Farmers should continue to consult the latest government guidance for their nation before moving animals or making disease-control decisions.
Bluetongue is a notifiable animal disease. If you suspect it in England, Scotland or Wales, you must report it immediately to the Animal and Plant Health Agency. Keepers in Northern Ireland should follow DAERA’s separate reporting process.
iLivestock does not diagnose bluetongue, determine whether animals should be vaccinated or report suspected cases on a keeper’s behalf. Those decisions and responsibilities remain with the farmer, their vet and the relevant authorities.
Farmers in England, Scotland and Wales must report their use of a BTV-3 vaccine. Current government guidance also requires keepers to:
Before submitting a vaccination report, keepers need details such as their CPH number, the holding address, vaccine batch numbers and the official unique identifiers of the animals vaccinated.
When a whole flock or herd is being handled, repeatedly writing down tag numbers and entering individual treatment records can create a substantial administrative task. iLivestock helps bring that information together.
Using iLivestock alongside an eTagReader or a compatible third-party EID reader, farmers can create a clear digital trail through three simple steps.
Watch the scan, record and upload process below, or follow the three steps underneath.
Start a scanning session before animals enter the handling race. As each animal is vaccinated, scan its EID tag. When the job is complete, import the scanning session into an iLivestock management group.
This creates an identifiable group containing the animals that went through the vaccination session.
From the Group Summary screen, select the appropriate medicine or vaccine from your medicine cabinet and enter the required details, including the administration date.
The supported group action applies the record to the individual animal profiles in that group, avoiding the need to open and update every animal separately.
Always check that the animals, product, date, batch information and any other required details are correct before saving the record.
You can export supported information from the group, giving you a list of the vaccinated animals and their individual identifiers.
This can make it easier to prepare the information required by the government vaccination-reporting service. Farmers remain responsible for checking the export, supplying all information requested by the service and submitting the report within the required timeframe.
For Hampshire farmer and iLivestock user Olivia, the process made preparing her tag information straightforward:
“Just want to say how easy it was to download the tag list and upload it to the DEFRA website. I literally did it in less than five minutes. Brilliant!”
iLivestock ambassador Maria Warne, also known as That Farming Mum, experienced the same pressure as vaccination paperwork began to build:
“It wasn’t until we were doing the paperwork for our bluetongue vaccination that we decided iLivestock was necessary on our farm. The paperwork was becoming unmanageable. Now we’ve moved to iLivestock, it has made everything so much easier.”
Individual results will depend on factors including flock or herd size, equipment, connectivity and the completeness of the records entered. Nevertheless, keeping each treatment attached to the right animal can make later checking and reporting far more manageable.
Good records do not replace veterinary advice, disease reporting or movement licences. They do, however, make it easier to understand which animals were included in a vaccination session, retrieve their histories and prepare animal lists when needed.
With iLivestock, farmers can keep identification, medicine and treatment information together, helping turn a demanding flock or herd task into a clearer record-keeping process.
If you are preparing for BTV-3 vaccination or want to improve the way you manage animal-level records, speak to the iLivestock team.
To learn how iLivestock can help you record vaccinations and manage animal information, watch our Bluetongue vaccination walkthrough, call +44 1383 324 358 or email support@ilivestock.com.
Guidance and restrictions can change at short notice. Always consult the current official information for your location: