BSE is not a contagious disease. There is no risk to animal and human health or food safety as a result of this isolated case.

Unlike classical BSE, which occurs through the consumption of contaminated feed, atypical BSE is believed to occur spontaneously at a very low level in all cattle populations. There have been just 3 cases in the UK since 2014.

The animal was tested under our surveillance system, demonstrating its effectiveness.

British beef remains safe to eat and can continue to be exported to trading partners.

Atypical BSE is not a notifiable disease for the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). This case does not affect our WOAH ‘controlled’ risk status for BSE, nor the application submitted in August this year to have it further reduced to ‘negligible’.

While cases of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in the UK are now rare, the confirmation of a new case in Scotland in May highlighted the continued importance of the robust BSE control measures we have in place that have greatly reduced the incidence of BSE in the UK. These controls include the Over Thirty Months (OTM) rule, which acts as a safeguard to both human and animal health. The OTM rule requires the removal at slaughter from cattle aged over thirty months old, tissues which are designated by the World Animal Health Organisation (WOAH) as Specified Risk Material (SRM), because they contain the highest level of potential BSE infectivity. The removal of SRM from cattle aged over thirty months is an internationally recognised requirement.

No assessment of the OTM rule is currently planned while we await the outcome of the recent application that England, Wales, and Scotland have made to WOAH to have our BSE risk status reduced from ‘controlled’ to ‘negligible’.

The UK has a comprehensive surveillance programme in place to monitor the level of BSE over time and check on the continued effectiveness of our BSE controls. It was the effectiveness of these controls that recently identified a case in Scotland. Defra officials have engaged closely with Scottish counterparts on this matter, as they do regularly on animal disease issues more broadly with officials from all UK administrations under the Animal Health and Welfare Framework.

The measures to be followed in the event of suspicion of BSE are set out in UK legislation, and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (AHPA) are well prepared to carry out the necessary actions. In the rare event that BSE is suspected, whole farm movement restrictions are applied by APHA who then trace cohorts (animals that shared feed with the affected animal during its first year of life) and any of its offspring born in the last two years.

In the event of the suspect case testing positive for BSE, its cohorts and offspring are then humanely culled, samples are taken from the brain stem for testing and the carcases are then destroyed, with the owners of the culled animals receiving compensation. While it not believed that BSE can be transmitted by mother to offspring during pregnancy ('vertical transmission') these animals are culled, along with cohorts, on a precautionary basis.

The APHA also carry out a rolling national feed audit which inspects and takes samples at various stages of the animal feed chain. This includes checks for prohibited processed animal proteins in samples of feeding stuffs intended for farmed animals. If feed is non-compliant, APHA inspectors look at the cause of contamination and make a decision based on the risk. Depending on the severity, feed may have to be removed from the market, and cattle exposed to it may be restricted or killed.

We remain vigilant to the threat posed by BSE and have a comprehensive surveillance programme in place to monitor the level of BSE over time and check on the continued effectiveness of our BSE controls. More detail on this is set out in Defra’s latest TSEs annual report here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/monitoring-programme-for-tses-annual-report-2021-and-2022.

Classical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was first diagnosed in the United Kingdom in 1986. Scientific opinion is that classical BSE was caused by feeding feedstuffs to cattle that were contaminated with a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) agent due to the inclusion of meat and bone meal. Scientific research has not identified any other definite vector of transmission and found no other potential causes, such as exposure to organophosphates. There is no evidence that it ‘spreads’ from animal to animal or between holdings.

As a result of this scientific opinion, a ban on prohibiting the sale, supply and use of feeding stuff incorporating animal protein for feeding to ruminants was put in place in the UK in 1988. Following further scientific advice, in 1996 the ban was extended to prohibit the feeding of mammalian meat and bone meal, or any feeding stuff containing it, to any farmed animals.

From a peak of over 37,000 cases in 1992 in the UK, there have been only 4 cases of the disease confirmed since 2014. This supports the hypothesis that classical BSE is a food-borne disease introduced by the inclusion of animal protein in feed, and that our BSE controls are working. It is still unknown which TSE agent caused the BSE epidemic (e.g. a scrapie agent from sheep or goats or an agent previously unknown in the cattle population that was recycled). Various transmission studies undertaken in GB and other countries failed to reproduce a BSE-like disease with TSE agents isolated from sheep or cattle other than classical BSE.

England and Wales have been included on the World Organisation for Animal Health’s list of countries with a controlled BSE risk since 2008. Due to the need to prioritise efforts in gaining access to third country markets, work associated with EU Exit, and in recent months responding to the current COVID-19 pandemic, it has not been possible to develop and submit a dossier for England and Wales to be included on the list of countries at negligible risk prior to the deadline for the 2021 General Session. England and Wales will remain on the list of countries with a controlled BSE risk, and we will consider submitting a dossier in early 2021 to be included on the list of countries at negligible risk of BSE.

We are currently considering whether there are options for implementing a change to the method for ageing sheep in relation to control of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies.

However, under EU rules, legal advice is that alternative methods to the accepted method of ageing by dentition may not be available to the UK as a third country if we leave the EU without a deal and wish to continue to export sheep meat to the EU.

We are aware of the concerns from the sheep sector about this and will keep the sector updated on our plans, taking account of developments with regard to our departure from the EU.

We have not had any discussions with the Polish Government on this matter. The case of BSE confirmed in Poland on 4 February was atypical BSE, which can occur spontaneously in all cattle populations at a very low rate. Under the rules of the World Organisation for Animal Health, atypical BSE does not have any influence upon a country’s official BSE risk status.

The number of cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in England since 2013 is set out in the table below:

All the evidence so far suggests this is an isolated case of classical Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE). As this incident occurred in Aberdeenshire, the Scottish Government have led the response, with support from the Animal and Plant Health Agency. We have made clear Defra is ready to provide assistance as required.

The Scottish Government have commissioned an epidemiological investigation to determine how the animal became infected. Whilst the disease is not directly transmitted from animal to animal, the affected animal’s three feed cohorts and one offspring have been traced and isolated, and have been humanely culled and tested for BSE as a precaution in line with UK and EU requirements. All test results are negative.

Studies have concluded that the BSE epidemic is in its final stage but that occasional cases should be expected in the ‘tail end’. The last case in the UK before this one occurred in 2015.

Strict protection measures remain in place which have been effective in reducing cases to these very low levels. The measures include the ban on feeding animal protein to farmed animals, which prevents the spread of BSE to animals through feed; removing specified risk material (SRM) – the most risky parts of animals – at slaughter to protects consumers from risk from food; and surveillance to monitor the level of BSE over time and thereby check on the continued effectiveness of BSE controls.