Commission Implementing Decision
of 21 December 2011
amending Annexes II and IV to Council Directive 2009/158/EC on animal health conditions governing intra-Community trade in, and imports from third countries of, poultry and hatching eggs
(notified under document C(2011) 9518)
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2011/879/EU)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Whereas:
Directive 2009/158/EC lays down animal health conditions governing intra-Union trade in, and imports from third countries of, poultry and hatching eggs. Annex II thereto sets out the rules for the approval of establishments for the purposes of intra-Union trade in those commodities and surveillance programmes to be carried out for certain diseases in the different poultry species. Annex IV to Directive 2009/158/EC lays down the model veterinary certificates for trade within the Union of the poultry commodities covered by that Directive.
Chapter III of Annex II to Directive 2009/158/EC lays down the minimum requirements for disease surveillance programmes. That Chapter provides a description of the testing procedures for Salmonella pullorum and Salmonella gallinarum. It is however necessary to provide for certain additional specific details as regards the testing for Salmonella arizonae.
In addition, box I.31. in Part I of the model veterinary certificate for day-old chicks set out in Annex IV to Directive 2009/158/EC includes a requirement to fill in detailed information in relation to the identification of the commodities covered by it.
That requirement provides valuable information on the health status of the parent flock(s) from which the day-old chicks originate, in particular with respect to testing for certain Salmonella serotypes. However, certain of those data requirements appear to pose unnecessary administrative burdens on business operators, especially in view of the unpredictability of hatch. In addition, certain data required to be filled in that box is filled in in other parts of the certificate.
Those entries should therefore be deleted from box 1.31. in the model veterinary certificates for hatching eggs, day-old chicks and breeding and productive poultry and be replaced by the entry ‘Approval number’ which would provide clearer information on the origin of the respective commodities. Part I of the notes in Part II of those model certificates should therefore be amended accordingly.
Directive 2009/158/EC should therefore be amended accordingly.
The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: