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CHAPTER IVU.K.CONTROL AND ERADICATION OF TSEs

Article 11U.K.Notification

Without prejudice to Directive 82/894/EEC(1), the Member States shall ensure that any animal suspected of being infected by a TSE is notified immediately to the competent authorities.

Member States shall regularly inform each other and the Commission of the cases of TSE notified.

The competent authority shall without delay take the measures laid down in Article 12 of this Regulation, together with any other necessary measures.

Article 12U.K.Measures with respect to suspect animals

1.Any animal suspected of being infected by a TSE shall be placed under an official movement restriction until the results of a clinical and epidemiological examination carried out by the competent authority are known, or killed for laboratory examination under official control.

If BSE is suspected in a bovine animal at a holding in a Member State, all other bovine animals from that holding shall be placed under an official movement restriction until the results of the examination are available.

If BSE is suspected in an ovine or caprine animal at a holding in a Member State on the basis of objective evidence such as the results of tests capable of differentiating in a practical way between the various TSEs, all other ovine and caprine animals from that holding shall be placed under an official movement restriction until the results of the examination are available.

If there is evidence that the holding where the animal was present when BSE was suspected is not likely to be the holding where the animal could have been exposed to BSE, the competent authority may decide that only the animal suspected of being infected shall be placed under an official movement restriction. If considered necessary, the competent authority may also decide that other holdings or only the holding of exposure shall be placed under official control depending on the epidemiological information available.

Under the procedure referred to in Article 24(2) and by way of derogation from the requirements of the second, third and fourth subparagraphs of this paragraph, a Member State may be exempted from the application of official restrictions on the movement of animals if it applies measures offering equivalent safeguards.

2.Where the competent authority decides that the possibility of infection with a TSE cannot be ruled out, the animal shall be killed, if it is still alive; its brain and all other tissues as the competent authority may determine shall be removed and sent to an officially approved laboratory, the national reference laboratory provided for in Article 19(1) or the Community reference laboratory provided for in Article 19(2), for examination in accordance with the testing methods laid down in Article 20.

3.All parts of the body of the suspect animal including the hide shall be retained under official control until a negative diagnosis has been made or shall be destroyed in accordance with Annex V, point 3 or 4.

4.Rules for the implementation of this Article shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 24(2).

Article 13U.K.Measures following confirmation of the presence of a TSE

1.When the presence of a TSE has been officially confirmed, the following measures shall be applied as soon as possible:

(a)all parts of the body of the animal shall be completely destroyed in accordance with Annex V apart from material retained for records in accordance with Annex III, Chapter B, III, 2;

(b)an inquiry shall be carried out to identify all animals at risk in accordance with Annex VII, point 1;

(c)all animals and products of animal origin referred to in Annex VII, point 2, that have been identified as being at risk by the inquiry referred to in (b), shall be killed and completely destroyed in accordance with Annex V, points 3 and 4.

By way of derogation from this paragraph, Member States may apply other measures offering an equivalent level of protection, if those measures have been approved in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 24(2).

2.Pending the implementation of the measures referred to in paragraph 1(b) and (c), the holding on which the animal was present when the presence of a TSE was confirmed shall be placed under official control and all movement of animals susceptible to TSEs and products of animal origin derived from them from or to the holding shall be subject to authorisation by the competent authority, with a view to ensuring immediate tracing and identification of the animals and products of animal origin concerned.

If there is evidence that the holding where the affected animal was present when the TSE was confirmed is not likely to be the holding where the animal was exposed to the TSE, the competent authority may decide that both holdings or only the holding of exposure shall be placed under official control.

3.Member States which have implemented a substitute scheme offering equivalent safeguards provided for in the fifth subparagraph of Article 12(1) may, by way of derogation from the requirements of paragraph 1(b) and (c), be exempted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 24(2) from the requirement to apply official restrictions on the movement of animals and from the requirement to kill and destroy animals.

4.Owners shall be compensated without delay for the loss of the animals that have been killed or products of animal origin destroyed in accordance with Article 12(2) and paragraph 1(a) and (c) of this Article.

5.Without prejudice to Directive 82/894/EEC, the confirmed presence of any TSE other than BSE shall be notified to the Commission on an annual basis.

6.Rules for the implementation of this Article shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 24(2).

Article 14U.K.Contingency plan

1.Member States shall draw up — in accordance with the general criteria of Community rules on the control of animal diseases — guidelines specifying the national measures to be implemented and indicating competences and responsibilities where cases of TSE are confirmed.

2.Where necessary to enable Community legislation to be applied uniformly, the guidelines may be harmonised in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 24(2).

(1)

Council Directive 82/894/EEC of 21 December 1982 on the notification of animal diseases within the Community (OJ L 378, 31.12.1982, p. 58). Directive as last amended by Commission Decision 2000/556/EC (OJ L 235, 19.9.2000, p. 27).