Cattle TSE surveillance statistics

Overview of Great Britain statistics (239kb pdf)

General statistics (283kb pdf)

Age and related statistics (258kb pdf)

Cattle cases found as a result of passive surveillance in Great Britain have been recorded since 1986.

The UK carried out limited active surveillance in cattle from 1999 to 2001. The EU active surveillance programme started in July 2001.

In active surveillance, the criteria for inclusion in the testing programme has changed over the years. It currently includes:

  • cattle over 24 months of age which die or are killed other than for human consumption.
  • cattle over 24 months of age which are emergency slaughtered or show certain abnormalities at ante-mortem inspection.
  • cattle over 30 months slaughtered for human consumption.
  • a sample of cattle disposed of under the Older Cattle Disposal Scheme (OCDS).