Capripoxviruses (CaPVs) cause serious pox diseases of domesticated ruminants (Carn, 1993). Comprising sheep pox virus (SPPV), goat pox virus (GTPV) and lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV), they are large, complex, double‐stranded DNA viruses within the genus Capripoxvirus, subfamily Chordopoxvirinae, family Poxviridae (Buller et al., 2005). SPPV and GTPV are normally restricted to Asia and North Africa, although clinical cases of sheep pox have also been detected in Europe (Mangana et al., 2008), and recently in Bulgaria and Greece (during 2013). Lumpy skin disease (LSD) occurs across Africa, and in recent years, LSDV has also been found in several countries of the Middle East (Tuppurainen and Oura, 2012), including Turkey where more than 236 outbreaks have occurred since 2013 (ProMed 20130831.1915595).