ANNEX IIU.K.SPECIFIC MEASURES TO CONTROL CERTAIN DISEASES

7.Protection zoneU.K.

1.The size of the protection zone shall be as defined in Article 10 of this Directive.U.K.

2.In the case of swine vesicular disease, by way of derogation, the measures in Article 11 of this Directive shall be replaced by the following:U.K.

(a)

all holdings within the zone having animals of susceptible species shall be identified;

(b)

there shall be periodic visits to holdings having animals of susceptible species, a clinical examination of those animals including, if necessary, the collection of samples for laboratory examination; a record of visits and findings must be kept; with the frequency of the visits being proportional to the seriousness of the epizootic on those holdings at greatest risk;

(c)

the movement and transport of animals of susceptible species on public or private roads, excluding the service roads of holdings, shall be prohibited. The competent authority may, however, derogate from this prohibition for the transit of animals by road and rail without unloading or stopping;

(d)

however, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 25, an exemption may be granted for slaughter pigs coming from outside the protection zone and on their way to a slaughterhouse situated in that zone;

(e)

trucks and other vehicles and equipment which are used within the protection zone to transport pigs or other livestock or material which may be contaminated (e.g. feedingstuff, manure, slurry, etc.) may not leave:

(i)

a holding situated within the protection zone;

(ii)

the protection zone;

(iii)

a slaughterhouse,

without having been cleaned and disinfected in accordance with the procedures laid down by the competent authority. Those procedures shall provide in particular that no truck or vehicle which has been used in the transport of pigs may leave the zone without being inspected by the competent authority;

(f)

pigs may not be removed from a holding in which they are kept for 21 days after completion of the preliminary cleaning and disinfection of infected holdings as laid down in Article 16; after 21 days, authorization may be given to remove pigs from the said holding:

(i)

directly to a slaughterhouse designated by the competent authority, preferably within the protection or surveillance zone, provided that:

  • an inspection of all the pigs on the holding has been carried out,

  • a clinical examination of the pigs to be moved to slaughter has been carried out,

  • each pig has been marked by ear marking or has been identified by any other approved method,

  • the pigs are transported in vehicles sealed by the competent authority.

The competent authority responsible for the slaughterhouse shall be informed of the intention to send pigs to it.

On arrival at the slaughterhouse, the pigs shall be kept and slaughtered separately from other pigs. The vehicle and equipment which have been involved in the transport of the pigs shall be cleaned and disinfected before leaving the slaughterhouse.

During the pre-slaughter and post mortem inspection carried out at the designated slaughterhouse, the competent authority shall take into account any signs relating to the presence of the swine vesicular disease virus.

In the case of pigs slaughtered under these provisions, a statistically representative sample of bloods shall be collected. In the case of a positive result which leads to the confirmation of swine vesicular disease, the measures in 9 (3) will apply;

(ii)

under exceptional circumstances, directly to other premises located within the protection zone, provided that:

  • an inspection of all the pigs on the holdings has been carried out,

  • a clinical examination of the pigs to be moved has been carried out, with negative results,

  • each pig has been marked by ear marking or has been identified by any other approved method;

(g)

[F1meat from the pigs referred to in point (f)(i):

(i)

shall not enter into intra-Community or international trade and shall bear the health mark for fresh meat provided for in Annex II to Council Directive 2002/99/EC (1) ;

(ii)

shall be obtained, cut, transported and stored separately from meat intended for intra-Community and international trade and shall be used in such a way as to avoid it being introduced into meat products intended for intra-Community or international trade, unless it has undergone a treatment set out in Annex III to Directive 2002/99/EC;]

(h)
(i)

[F2by way of derogation from point (g), for meat from the pigs referred to in point (f)(i) Member States may decide to use an other identification mark than the special identification mark set out in Annex II to Directive 2002/99/EC, provided that it is clearly distinguishable from other identification marks to be applied to pig meat in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2) or Commission Regulation (EC) No 2076/2005 (3) ;

Member States that decide to use the alternative identification mark shall inform the Commission thereof in the framework of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health.

(ii)

for the purpose of (i) the identification mark must be legible and indelible, the characters easily readable and clearly displayed. The identification mark must have following shape and contain following indications:

XY means the relevant country code provided for in point 6 of Part B of Section I of Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004.

1234 means the approval number of the establishment referred to in point 7 of Part B of Section I of Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004.]

Textual Amendments

3.The measures in the protection zone shall continue to be applied at least until:U.K.

(a)

all measures laid down in Article 16 of this Directive have been carried out;

(b)

all the holdings in the zone have undergone:

(i)

a clinical examination of the pigs which has revealed that they have no signs of disease suggesting the presence of swine vesicular disease; and

(ii)

a serological examination of a statistical sample of the pigs without the detection of antibodies to swine vesicular disease. The programme for serological screening shall take into account the transmission of swine vesicular disease and the way in which pigs are kept. The programme shall be fixed under the procedure laid down in Article 25 of this Directive before the date of entry on which it is brought into effect.

The examination and sampling referred to in (i) and (ii) shall not take place before 28 days have elapsed after the completion of preliminary cleaning and disinfection measures at the infected holding.

4.On expiry of the period referred to in point 3, the rules applied to the surveillance zone shall also apply to the protection zone.U.K.

[F25. Where the prohibitions provided for in point 2(f) are maintained beyond 30 days because of the occurrence of further cases of the disease and as a result problems arise in keeping the animals, the competent authority may, following an application by the owner explaining the grounds for such application and provided that the official veterinarian has verified the facts, authorise the removal of the animals from a holding within the protection zone. Points 2(f) and (h) shall apply mutatis mutandis .] U.K.

Textual Amendments