UK Notifiable Animal Diseases
Which animal diseases are notifiable in the UK?
Defra and APHA publish guidance on 45 notifiable animal diseases on GOV.UK. Their own page says that list "is not comprehensive: it does not include all such diseases," so treat it as the main published list rather than the full legal one. If you suspect any notifiable disease, even without confirmation, you must report it to APHA immediately. Failing to do so is an offence.
Approach: I searched GOV.UK's APHA disease guidance and the current Animal Health Act 1981, then opened the Defra/APHA "Notifiable diseases in animals" collection on GOV.UK. The orders that set the full legal list for each nation are not in the datasets I can search.
The diseases on the Defra/APHA list (GOV.UK collection):
| Species group (my grouping) | Diseases |
|---|---|
| Poultry and birds | Avian influenza (bird flu); Newcastle disease; Paramyxovirus infection |
| Cattle | Bovine TB [1]; BSE; Brucellosis [2]; Contagious bovine pleuro-pneumonia; Enzootic bovine leukosis; Lumpy skin disease; Rinderpest; Warble fly [3] |
| Pigs | African swine fever [4]; Aujeszky's disease; Classical swine fever [5]; Porcine epidemic diarrhoea [6]; Swine vesicular disease [7]; Teschen disease |
| Sheep and goats | Contagious agalactia; Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia; Contagious epididymitis; Peste des petits ruminants (goat plague); Scrapie; Sheep pox and goat pox; Sheep scab |
| Horses | African horse sickness; Contagious equine metritis; Dourine; Epizootic lymphangitis; Equine infectious anaemia (swamp fever); Equine viral arteritis; Equine viral encephalomyelitis; Glanders and farcy; West Nile fever |
| Several species / other | Anthrax; Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (in amphibians); Bluetongue; Chronic wasting disease (in deer); Echinococcus multilocularis; Epizootic haemorrhagic disease; Foot and mouth disease [8]; Rabies; Rabies in bats; Rift Valley fever; Surra; Vesicular stomatitis [9] |
GOV.UK also groups notifiable diseases by type. Endemic diseases are already present in the UK (bovine TB is its example). Exotic diseases are not normally present (foot and mouth). Some of either kind are zoonotic, meaning they pass between animals and humans (rabies).
How to report:
- England: Defra Rural Services Helpline, 03000 200 301.
- Wales: 0300 303 8268.
- Scotland: your local APHA Field Services Office.
Legal basis:
- Statutory definition: Section 88 of the Animal Health Act 1981 applies to England, Wales and Scotland. It defines "disease" as "cattle plague, pleuro-pneumonia, foot-and-mouth disease, sheep-pox, sheep scab, or swine fever." For poultry it covers fowl pest (including Newcastle disease and fowl plague) and several other poultry diseases. Ministers may add other diseases by order [10].
- Recent extensions: The Act's notes record two 2026 orders that extend this definition: S.I. 2026/466 for England and W.S.I. 2026/114 for Wales [10]. I couldn't open the text of the England order on legislation.gov.uk, so I can't tell you which diseases either order adds.
- The offence: Under section 15(7), a person is guilty of an offence if they fail "to give notice of disease with all practicable speed" where the Act or an order requires it [11].
- Northern Ireland: The definition in section 88 does not extend there [10], and I did not check Northern Ireland's own legislation.
The diseases each nation's orders make notifiable could not be confirmed here, so I have not added anything beyond the GOV.UK list. Aquatic animal diseases are not on that list and I did not check them.
Sources:
How do I report a suspected case?
To report a suspected notifiable disease, phone APHA straight away. In England call the Defra Rural Services Helpline on 03000 200 301. In Wales call 0300 303 8268. In Scotland call your local APHA Field Services Office [8]. A suspicion is enough to report; you don't need a confirmed diagnosis. If you don't report it, you're breaking the law [12].
Approach: I searched the Defra/APHA notifiable disease guidance on GOV.UK. It gives no reporting route for Northern Ireland, and I found none for that nation in the datasets I searched.
Who to call
| Where the animals are | Contact |
|---|---|
| England | 03000 200 301 (Defra Rural Services Helpline) |
| Wales | 0300 303 8268 |
| Scotland | Your local APHA Field Services Office |
Some pages print the Wales number as 03003 038 268, for example the poultry test-to-exclude page [13]. It is the same number. The disease pages repeat the wording "you must report it immediately", for example for rabies and Newcastle disease [14][15]. Dead wild birds are reported separately under their own GOV.UK guidance [12]. I didn't open that page.
What happens after you call [12]
- An APHA duty vet asks you about your animals.
- If the duty vet can't rule out a notifiable disease over the phone, a veterinary inspector will usually visit.
- Until then, the duty vet tells you what restrictions you must follow. For example, you may need to stop moving susceptible animals on or off your premises. You may also need to stop moving anything that can carry the disease, such as meat products, equipment or vehicles.
- The inspector may take samples. For some diseases the animal may have to be culled to take them. The inspector may also restrict your premises, and you must follow those restrictions. Depending on the disease, a temporary control zone may be set up around you.
- Restrictions stay in place until the investigation is finished.
Outcomes [12]
- If the disease is confirmed:
- APHA investigates how long the disease has been there, where it came from and whether it has spread.
- It may restrict linked premises or set up wider disease control zones.
- It may also cull susceptible animals, carry out initial cleansing and disinfection, set rules on restocking, and limit exports, hunting and animal gatherings.
- You may get compensation if healthy animals are culled. You get none for being in a control zone or for losses caused by the zone.
- If the disease is ruled out:
- Restrictions end.
- You may be able to get a subsidised follow-up investigation by an APHA vet. To ask for one, your vet should phone the nearest APHA Veterinary Investigation Centre or email SIU@apha.gov.uk.
- Support: Farming Help is on 03000 111 999.
Special cases
- Rabies: Don't go near live animals you think may be rabid, and don't touch dead ones. Report it so the animal can be tested [14].
- Foot and mouth disease: If you see its signs in pigs, you must report them even if you think it is swine vesicular disease or Seneca Valley virus. APHA treats the case as suspected foot and mouth disease until laboratory tests show otherwise [8].