Figures released by Deputy First Minister and Rural Affairs Secretary Huw Irranca‑Davies show that 6,890 cattle were moved from England into Wales in July 2025, compared with 13,406 in the same month last year — a fall of nearly half.
The restrictions, brought in by the Welsh Government on 1 July, require livestock moving from England — which has been designated a Bluetongue Restricted Zone — to meet strict licensing and testing or vaccination requirements before entering Wales. The measures were introduced after confirmed cases of Bluetongue virus serotype 3 (BTV‑3) in England.
‘Industry being strangled’
Andrew RT Davies MS, Senedd Member for South Wales Central, farmer, and former Leader of the Welsh Conservatives, obtained the figures through written questions to ministers.
He said the sharp drop in movements showed the scale of the impact on the cattle trade:
“These figures show that the cattle trade in Wales is in a crisis zone. With cattle movements dropping like a stone just as Bluetongue restrictions have taken hold, the industry is being effectively strangled out of existence in Wales.
Unless the Welsh Government take urgent action to align rules with England, our cattle industry as we know it will be closed down for good.”
Mr Davies has previously claimed some farmers believe the restrictions are being used to reduce livestock numbers in line with the Climate Change Committee’s recommendation that Welsh livestock numbers should be cut by 20% by 2033 to meet environmental targets.
Background on the rules
Under current Welsh Government policy, cattle from the Bluetongue Restricted Zone in England can only move into Wales if they have either:
- Completed a full course of BTV‑3 vaccination (cattle only), or
- Returned a negative pre‑movement test from an approved laboratory within seven days of travel.
All such moves require a specific licence, and testing costs are met by the keeper.
The Welsh Government has said the measures are necessary to protect animal health and the farming industry from the spread of Bluetongue, which is transmitted by biting midges and can cause serious illness or death in cattle, sheep and other ruminants.
