The National Beef Association (NBA) has renewed its call for the Scottish Government to order bluetongue vaccine.

The move follows the announcement by the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) that bluetongue restrictions have been extended into Devon and south-east Wales after the discovery of an outbreak in Dorset. The Dorset case was one of four confirmed on Wednesday.

All of the infected animals were found as a result of pre-movement testing required before taking animals out of restricted zones in the vector-free period.

The total number of confirmed cases now stands at 79.

NBA Scotland cannot understand the risk the Scottish Government is prepared to take by not ordering bluetongue vaccine for general use on livestock farms this summer.

It says it is unrealistic for Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead to expect farmers to be able to counter the advance of bluetongue virus, which has the potential to inflict disastrous economic and animal welfare damage on their businesses, without access to an effective restraint.

It is also alarmed that while the Scottish Government says it would be prepared to spend up to £10m on financing a national vaccination programme, should bluetongue spread towards the Scottish border later this year, it is ready to gamble on only 100 to 200 Scottish animals being infected over 2008 - and prefers to hold back its funding until 2009 instead.

"England expects a bluetongue conflagration in previously free areas over July and August and is rolling out a national vaccination programme, that will begin at the end of May, to counter this," explained NBA Scotland chairman, Iain Mathers.

"Livestock farms in Scotland face the same dangers, and the Scottish Government should acknowledge that a deadly and damaging disease like bluetongue is like a fire that can only be controlled on the spot by an effective extinguisher like vaccination.

"Mr Lochhead's advisers have said they will be able to secure sufficient vaccine for Scotland if they are faced with an emergency, but at this stage prefer not to commit themselves to the cost of the order.

"They have also said they prefer to defer covering Scotland with the protection zone status that is required for vaccination to take place because they wish to protect live animal trade with Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic.

"However, they have not acknowledged the difficulties Scotland's store and breeding stock producers will have selling unvaccinated stock into much more important markets in England and Wales this autumn if Scotland does not vaccinate or volunteer for protection zone status.

"Nor have they recognised the appetite that already exists among Scottish farmers themselves for access to bluetongue vaccine."