The Swine Vesicular Disease Regulations 2009

PART 5 Area controls

Protection, surveillance and movement restriction zones

24.—(1) This regulation applies where the Secretary of State confirms premises as infected premises.

(2) Unless the premises are listed in paragraph (3) the Secretary of State—

(a) must declare a protection zone and a surveillance zone around the infected premises, and

(b) may declare a movement restriction zone.

(3) If the infected premises are—

(a) a slaughterhouse,

(b) a veterinary surgery where a pig has been brought for examination, or

(c) any other place to which a pig has been brought temporarily and which the Secretary of State does not consider to be the centre of infection,

the Secretary of State may (but need not) declare a protection zone, surveillance zone and movement restriction zone around the premises.

(4) The protection zone must have a radius of at least three kilometres and the surveillance zone must have a radius of at least ten kilometres, both centred on the part of the premises that the Secretary of State considers most appropriate for disease control.

(5) The Secretary of State must ensure that—

(a) premises within a protection zone or a surveillance zone that contain pigs are identified as soon as possible, and

(b) a veterinary inspector visits all such premises that are within a protection zone, as soon as possible and—

(i) inspects and as necessary examines the pigs, and

(ii) collects and tests such samples as the veterinary inspector considers necessary.

(6) Schedule 2 sets out measures that apply in protection zones and surveillance zones, and breach of any of those measures is an offence.

(7) The Secretary of State may declare that any other measure necessary to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, the spread of swine vesicular disease virus applies in respect of the whole or any part of any protection zone or surveillance zone.

(8) Premises—

(a) partly inside and partly outside a protection zone are treated as being inside it;

(b) partly inside a surveillance zone and partly in an area other than a protection zone are treated as being inside the surveillance zone;

(c) partly inside a movement restriction zone and partly in an area other than a surveillance zone are treated as being inside the movement restriction zone.

(9) When the Secretary of State declares the end of any protection zone, the area that formed that protection zone becomes part of the surveillance zone.

Movement restriction zones

25.—(1) A movement restriction zone must be centred on the part of the infected premises that the Secretary of State considers most appropriate for disease control, must be wider than the surveillance zone and does not include any area in the protection zone or surveillance zone.

(2) The area must be such as the Secretary of State considers necessary to reduce the spread of swine vesicular disease virus.

(3) It is an offence to move a pig off any premises in the movement restriction zone except in accordance with a licence granted by a veterinary inspector or an inspector acting under the direction of a veterinary inspector.

Declarations where swine vesicular disease in Scotland or Wales

26.—(1) Where infected premises (or the equivalent in Scottish or Welsh legislation) are declared in Scotland or Wales in relation to swine vesicular disease, the Secretary of State must immediately declare—

(a) a protection zone to cover at least any area in England as is within three kilometres of the part of the infected premises most appropriate for the purposes of disease control, and

(b) a surveillance zone to cover at least any area in England as is within ten kilometres of that part of the infected premises.

(2) In any other case the Secretary of State may declare a protection zone and a surveillance zone on being satisfied that swine vesicular disease virus exists on any premises in Scotland or Wales.

(3) In addition the Secretary of State may declare a movement restriction zone.

Declarations of zones

27.—(1) A declaration of a zone under this Part—

(a) must be in writing;

(b) must designate the extent of the zone being declared; and

(c) may be amended or revoked by further declaration at any time.

(2) In the case of a protection zone or a surveillance zone, the Secretary of State may not declare the end of the zone until—

(a) all necessary cleansing and disinfection has been carried out at all infected premises in the zone to the satisfaction of a veterinary inspector;

(b) all premises with pigs have been visited by a veterinary inspector, who has—

(i) inspected and as necessary examined the pigs; and

(ii) collected such samples as the veterinary inspector considers necessary; and

(c) all samples have been tested with negative results.

Publicity

28.—(1) The Secretary of State must publicise—

(a) the extent of any zone declared under these Regulations;

(b) the nature of the restrictions and requirements relating to the zone;

(c) the dates of the declaration and ending of that zone.

(2) The local authority must where necessary erect signs where a road enters a protection or surveillance zone indicating the existence of the zone.