Warning over buying and selling second-hand bluetongue vaccines

Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) enforcement officers have received reports of animal keepers buying, selling and exchanging BTV-3 vaccines through social media platforms. The sale or transfer of surplus vaccine presents significant risks to animal health. Once a product leaves the authorised supply chain, there can be no guarantee that it has been stored, handled or transported correctly, potentially affecting its quality, safety and effectiveness.

BTV-3 vaccines are prescription-only veterinary medicines and are subject to strict legal controls. Animal owners cannot legally supply a veterinary medicine to another animal owner, even if that medicine has been prescribed by a veterinary surgeon for the recipient.

Animal keepers have been taking action to vaccinate their animals against BTV-3 and we encourage keepers to continue to do this. We want to ensure you have access to vaccines that are effective and safe. This guidance will help you find safe and legal sources and understand what to do if you spot any suspicious listings.

To access safe and legal sources of BTV-3 vaccines animal keepers should first discuss with their vet if BTV-3  vaccination is right for your animals.  

If animal keepers are buying vaccines online, they should ensure they have a valid prescription from a vet and only purchase from a registered online retailer authorised to sell prescription-only veterinary medicines.

You can verify whether a website is authorised to sell animal medicines, by checking the VMD’s register of online retailers.

More details on the rules for reporting BTV-3 vaccinations and keeping records is available on the BTV-3 vaccination page.

Questions have also been raised about the practice of splitting vaccine bottles.