Scores
of sheep on farms across North Devon have given birth to deformed or dead lambs
due to the Schmallenberg virus.
It’s
expected that as lambing gets fully under way hundreds of lambs in the area
will either be aborted, born dead, or badly deformed and will have to be put
down.
The
first signs of flocks with the virus were seen during the summer, but only now
are the deformities happening in numbers.
The
south West vice chairman of the National Sheep Association, Bryan Grifiths,
said he believes all the early-lambing farmers are seeing deformed lambs in
their flocks.
The
virus has hit the lambs from pedigree flocks which lamb early in the year.
The
majority of sheep farmers in North Devon are holding their breath in the hope
that their flocks might have some immunity because they were bitten by the
midges which spread the disease before they became pregnant.
They
won’t know the whole story until February/March 2013 when most of the lambs are
born.
North
Devon vet Mike Glover of Torch Veterinary and Equine has seen the disease in
two flocks and is aware of Schmallenberg cropping up on other farms where the
deaths aren’t being reported.
The
virus is not a notifiable disease.
Warkleigh
farmer Andrew Hammett keeps 800 sheep at Broadmoor Farm, and started lambing
his Poll Dorsets a fortnight ago. He’s lost around 60 already because of
Schmallenberg and fears his numbers will be down by as many as 200 out of an
expected 600 lambs.
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