A Scottish farmer was stunned when a virus killed more than half his lambs early in 2025, and he fears the devastating vector-borne disease could spell the end for his family business.
What's happening?
As detailed by the BBC, Dundonald livestock farmer Michael Goldie lost 92 of his expected 152 newborn lambs to the Schmallenberg virus in January. The virus, first discovered in Germany in 2011, is connected to stillbirths, limb malformations, brain deformities, and other defects in newborn animals, according to the National Animal Disease Information Service.
Goldie, who has been raising sheep since he was 10, told the BBC that the emotional impact felt more significant than the tens of thousands of pounds in estimated financial losses.
"You're looking at your dreams in front of you effectively just being shattered," Goldie said, explaining that he reached out to a veterinarian when several newborn lambs "didn't look right."
Why is this important?
The Schmallenberg virus is one of several viruses threatening farming operations in the United Kingdom. If the viruses spread widely, livelihoods could be lost and the food supply interrupted.
"If I can get absolutely hammered by Schmallenberg, I could be wiped out by a different vector-borne disease," Goldie said.
This year, per the report, officials have already recorded more than 200 cases of bluetongue virus, which first appeared in England in 2023. Bluetongue can kill adult animals, and, according to NADIS, it historically circulates primarily in tropical and subtropical areas.
Like Schmallenberg, bluetongue is spread by biting midges — whose active period in the U.K. has become longer because of rising global temperatures, per research by The Pirbright Institute, Rothamsted Research, the U.K. Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, and the Met Office.
"There are a whole number of diseases there that are causing grief, and it's a difficult time to be a farmer," added Sheila Voas, Scotland's chief veterinary officer.
What's being done about this?
Scotland's Rural College is developing an app to provide farmers with timely access to animal health data, as the BBC reported. The hope is that replacing paper-based monitoring with HerdPlan will help agricultural teams spot and contain issues more quickly.
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Not enough time ⏳ The warming climate has also contributed to the spread of deadly diseases in humans. For instance, mosquitoes — which can carry malaria and dengue, among other things — have increased their ranges as temperatures become more ideal for their reproduction and survival.
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