Parklands Vets Farm

31/03/2026

We are getting a lot of questions around Bluetongue at the moment and what it could do. This is a good webinar explaining the effects of Bluetongue seen in England over the last couple of years. If you have any questions please ask a Parklands vet.

Vet Alan Murphy shares some of his knowledge and experience regarding the Bluetongue disease in the UK along with other dieseases.Alan is the current veterin...

15/03/2026

💐Happy Mother's day 💐

02/03/2026

🐾🐄 We were delighted to welcome a group from Kilrea YFC to the practice on Monday 23rd February for a tour of the practice and a talk with David Mc Kinstry about being a vet! 🐶

Thankyou for your enthusiasm and great questions - we loved having you all!

02/03/2026

Balmoral Show Requirements regarding Bluetongue. Will other agricultural shows follow suit in NI?
Remember to apply for the licence from DAERA to use the vaccine, contact us if you need advice or a copy of the form.

16/02/2026

Last week one of our Vets, Joshua Kittle, travelled down to Dublin to give a talk to their Farm Animal Veterinary Society.

The talk encompassed all things sheep including how to practically approach and work through flock based clinical cases, as well as some other common conditions sheep might develop. 🐑

We want to thank Dublin FAVS for the invite, a great night was had by all sparking great discussion and giving the future new grads some helpful tips and advice for when they start practice.

16/01/2026

***NEW BVD HERD RESTRICTIONS***

Please read text below but note this will potentially PREVENT sales of all females in the herd for a variable time!
Speak to a Parklands vet for more information.

Immediate BVD Herd restrictions will be applied by DAERA from 1st February 2026
Please be aware that from 1st February, herd restrictions (outwards and inwards) on herds with one or more BVD Positive animals or Inconclusive animals, and their associated herds, will be applied by DAERA at the point of notification of the results. There will no longer be any grace periods. Females over one year old in herds with BVDPs will have individual restrictions applied, to help to ensure that Trojan moves do not occur.
Provided all cattle in the herd and associated herds over 30 days of age have BVD Negative statuses, herd level restrictions are lifted three weeks after either:
• the return of a negative retest result or results, or
• the notification on NIFAIS of the death of the animal(s).
Following the removal of any BVDP animals, for all female cattle in the herd over 365 days of age, individual restrictions remain in place until either:
• The female calves and its calf’s status becomes BVDN [on NIFAIS]
• 287 days have passed since the last BVDP was moved out of the herd [on NIFAIS]
• Evidence is provided to DAERA to allow manual removal of BVDFem status [via AHWNI – see separate form]. (Probably requires blood testing females to show infection status)

Ongoing restrictions on herds with BVDUs
Herds with more than 10 animals of unknown BVD status (BVDUs) are also being restricted, until all cattle over 30 days of age in the herd have been tested with BVD Negative results.

10/01/2026

Glad to have a stand at the Redhouse open day. Big crowd, they reckon 6000, thanks to everyone who stopped to keep us in craic! If you missed it please call into one of our branches where we are still running the raffle for olivovet dry cow boluses for a few more days in aid of air ambulance.

09/01/2026

🚁 We're thrilled to be attending the RedHouse Holsteins Open Day this Saturday 10th January 2026 in support of Air Ambulance NI 🚁

Craig McAlister and a number of the Parklands Vets team will be there to welcome you at our stand where you can make a donation towards Air Ambulance NI

We can't wait to see you there and answer any veterinary enquiries 🐄🐑

06/12/2025

There has been a lot of discussion around the recent Bluetongue outbreak. Parklands would like to remind everyone that if you have any concerns or are considering vaccinating your stock then please speak to a Parklands vet for advice.
A licence issued by DAERA is also required BEFORE you can get the vaccine. As this may take time to be returned we are recommending anyone even considering vaccinating to apply for this licence NOW, it does not mean you have to use the vaccine, see link to the short form.
https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/publications/application-form-specific-licence-livestock-keeper-obtain-bluetongue-btv-3-vaccine

14/11/2025

New rules coming into force around BVD tissue tags and herd closures with 10 or more BVDU.

"Under the new threshold, herds with 10 or more BVDU status animals over 30 days old will be subject to herd level movement restrictions. These restrictions prohibit all moves into the herd and all moves out, except to direct slaughter or for disposal. Herds which have been associated by DAERA due to common disease risks will also be restricted."

see full article here

Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), Andrew Muir MLA, is advising herd keepers that from 1 December 2025, the threshold for applying Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) herd restrictions will reduce to 10 untested animals (BVDUs) over 30 days old within a herd.

06/11/2025

‼️Avian Owners - Attention ‼️

There has been an outbreak of bird flu in Northern Ireland within the last few weeks.
We urge all bird keepers from commercial poultry to pet bird owners and everything in-between to keep their birds inside.

If you have any concerns or want any advice then give us a call

To find more information about the housing order and to keep up to date, then click the link below 👇
Https://share.google/wsN18rfJPI5t4gvC7