Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

TITLE I U.K. Identification and registration of bovine animals

Article 1 U.K.

1. Each Member State shall establish a system for the identification and registration of bovine animals, in accordance with this Title.

2. The provisions of this title shall apply without prejudice to Community rules which may be established for disease eradication or control purposes and without prejudice to Directive 91/496/EEC and Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92(1). However, the provisions of Directive 92/102/EEC which relate specifically to bovine animals shall no longer apply from the date on which those animals must be identified in accordance with this title.

Article 2 U.K.

For the purposes of this title:

• ‘animal’ means a bovine animal within the meaning of Article 2(2)(b) and (c) of Directive 64/432/EEC(2),

• ‘holding’ means any establishment, construction or, in the case of an open-air farm, any place situated within the territory of the same Member State, in which animals covered by this Regulation are held, kept or handled,

• ‘keeper’ means any natural or legal person responsible for animals, whether on a permanent or on a temporary basis, including during transportation or at a market,

• ‘competent authority’ means the central authority or authorities in a Member State responsible for, or entrusted with, carrying out veterinary checks and implementing this title or, in the case of the monitoring of premiums, the authorities entrusted with implementing Regulation (EC) No 3508/92.

Article 3 U.K.

The system for the identification and registration of bovine animals shall comprise the following elements:

(a)

ear tags to identify animals individually;

(b)

computerised databases;

(c)

animal passports;

(d)

individual registers kept on each holding.

The Commission and the competent authority of the Member State concerned shall have access to all the information covered by this title. The Member States and the Commission shall take the measures necessary to ensure access to these data for all parties concerned, including consumer organisations having an interest which are recognised by the Member State, provided that the data confidentiality and protection prescribed by national law are ensured.

Article 4 U.K.

1. All animals on a holding born after 31 December 1997 or intended for intra-Community trade after 1 January 1998 shall be identified by an ear tag approved by the competent authority, applied to each ear.[F1 All animals on a holding in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia or Slovakia born by the date of accession or intended for intra-Community trade after that date shall be identified by an ear tag approved by the competent authority, applied to each ear.] [F2 All animals on a holding in Bulgaria or Romania born by the date of accession or intended for intra-Community trade after that date shall be identified by an ear tag approved by the competent authority, applied to each ear.]Both ear tags shall bear the same unique identification code, which makes it possible to identify each animal individually together with the holding on which it was born. By way of derogation from the above requirement, animals born before 1 January 1998 which are intended for intra-Community trade after that date may be identified in accordance with Directive 92/102/EEC until 1 September 1998.

By way of derogation from the first subparagraph, animals born before 1 January 1998 which are intended for intra-Community trade after that date with a view to immediate slaughter may be identified in accordance with Directive 92/102/EEC until 1 September 1999.

Bovine animals intended for cultural and sporting events (with the exception of fairs and exhibitions) may, instead of by an ear tag, be identified by an identification system offering equivalent guarantees and authorised by the Commission.

2. The ear tag shall be applied within a period to be determined by the Member State as from the birth of the animal and in any case before the animal leaves the holding on which it was born. The period may not be longer than 30 days up to and including 31 December 1999, and not longer than 20 days thereafter.

However, at the request of a Member State and in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 23(2), the Commission may determine the circumstances in which Member States may extend the maximum period.

No animal born after 31 December 1997 may be moved from a holding unless it is identified in accordance with the provisions of this Article.

[F1 No animal born in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia or Slovakia after the date of accession may be moved from a holding unless it is identified in accordance with the provisions of this Article.]

[F2 No animal born in Bulgaria or Romania after the date of accession may be moved from a holding unless it is identified in accordance with the provisions of this Article.]

3. Any animal imported from a third country which has passed the checks laid down in Directive 91/496/EEC and which remains within Community territory shall be identified on the holding of destination by an ear tag complying with the requirements of this Article, within a period to be determined by the Member State but not exceeding 20 days following the aforesaid checks, and in any event before leaving the holding.

However, it is not necessary to identify the animal if the holding of destination is a slaughterhouse situated in the Member State where such checks are carried out and the animal is slaughtered within 20 days of undergoing the checks.

The original identification established by the third country shall be recorded in the computerised database provided for in Article 5 or, if this is not yet fully operational, in the registers provided for in Article 3, together with the identification code allocated to it by the Member State of destination.

4. Any animal from another Member State shall retain its original ear tag.

5. No ear tag may be removed or replaced without the permission of the competent authority.

6. The ear tags shall be allocated to the holding, distributed and applied to the animals in a manner determined by the competent authority.

7. Not later than 31 December 2001 the European Parliament and the Council, acting on the basis of a report from the Commission accompanied by any proposals and in accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 95 of the Treaty, shall decide on the possibility of introducing electronic identification arrangements in the light of progress achieved in this field.

Textual Amendments

F1 Inserted by Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded.

F2 Inserted by Council Regulation (EC) No 1791/2006 of 20 November 2006 adapting certain Regulations and Decisions in the fields of free movement of goods, freedom of movement of persons, company law, competition policy, agriculture (including veterinary and phytosanitary legislation), transport policy, taxation, statistics, energy, environment, cooperation in the fields of justice and home affairs, customs union, external relations, common foreign and security policy and institutions, by reason of the accession of Bulgaria and Romania.

Article 5 U.K.

The competent authority of the Member States shall set up a computerised database in accordance with Articles 14 and 18 of Directive 64/432/EC.

The computerised databases shall become fully operational no later than 31 December 1999, after which they shall store all data required pursuant to the said Directive.

Article 6 U.K.

1. As from 1 January 1998, the competent authority shall, for each animal which has to be identified in accordance with Article 4, issue a passport within 14 days of the notification of its birth, or, in the case of animals imported from third countries, within 14 days of the notification of its re-identification by the Member State concerned in accordance with Article 4(3). The competent authority may issue a passport for animals from another Member State under the same conditions. In such cases, the passport accompanying the animal on its arrival shall be surrendered to the competent authority, which shall return it to the issuing Member State.

[F1 The competent authority in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia shall, as of the date of accession, for each animal which has to be identified in accordance with Article 4, issue a passport within 14 days of the notification of its birth, or, in the case of animals imported from third countries, within 14 days of the notification of its re-identification by the Member State concerned in accordance with Article 4(3).]

[F2 The competent authority in Bulgaria and Romania shall, as of the date of accession, for each animal which has to be identified in accordance with Article 4, issue a passport within 14 days of the notification of its birth, or, in the case of animals imported from third countries, within 14 days of the notification of its re-identification by the Member State concerned in accordance with Article 4(3).]

However, at the request of a Member State and in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 23(2), the Commission may determine the circumstances under which the maximum period may be extended.

2. Whenever an animal is moved, it shall be accompanied by its passport.

3. By way of derogation from the first sentence of paragraph 1 and from paragraph 2, Member States:

• which have a computerised database which the Commission deems to be fully operational in accordance with Article 5 may determine that a passport is to be issued only for animals intended for intra-Community trade and that those animals shall be accompanied by their passports only when they are moved from the territory of the Member State concerned to the territory of another Member State, in which case the passport shall contain information based on the computerised database.

  In these Member States, the passport accompanying an animal imported from another Member State shall be surrendered to the competent authority on its arrival;

• may until 1 January 2000 authorise the issue of collective animal passports for herds moved within the Member State concerned provided that such herds have the same origin and destination and are accompanied by a veterinary certificate.

4. In the case of the death of an animal, the passport shall be returned by the keeper to the competent authority within seven days after the death of the animal. If the animal is sent to the slaughterhouse, the operator of the slaughterhouse shall be responsible for returning the passport to the competent authority.

5. In the case of animals exported to third countries, the passport shall be surrendered by the last keeper to the competent authority at the place where the animal is exported.

Textual Amendments

F1 Inserted by Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded.

F2 Inserted by Council Regulation (EC) No 1791/2006 of 20 November 2006 adapting certain Regulations and Decisions in the fields of free movement of goods, freedom of movement of persons, company law, competition policy, agriculture (including veterinary and phytosanitary legislation), transport policy, taxation, statistics, energy, environment, cooperation in the fields of justice and home affairs, customs union, external relations, common foreign and security policy and institutions, by reason of the accession of Bulgaria and Romania.

Article 7 U.K.

1. With the exception of transporters, each keeper of animals shall:

• keep an up-to-date register,

• once the computerised database is fully operational, report to the competent authority all movements to and from the holding and all births and deaths of animals on the holding, along with the dates of these events, within a period fixed by the Member State of between three and seven days of the event occurring. However, at the request of a Member State and in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 23(2), the Commission may determine the circumstances in which Member States may extend the maximum period and provide for special rules applicable to movements of bovine animals when put out to summer grazing in different mountain areas.

2. Where applicable and having regard to Article 6, each animal keeper shall complete the passport immediately on arrival and prior to departure of each animal from the holding and ensure that the passport accompanies the animal.

3. Each keeper shall supply the competent authority, upon request, with all information concerning the origin, identification and, where appropriate, destination of animals, which he has owned, kept, transported, marketed or slaughtered.

4. The register shall be in a format approved by the competent authority, kept in manual or computerised form, and be available at all times to the competent authority, upon request, for a minimum period to be determined by the competent authority but which may not be less than three years.

Article 8 U.K.

Member States shall designate the authority responsible for ensuring compliance with this title. They shall inform each other and the Commission of the identity of this authority.

Article 9 U.K.

Member States may charge to keepers the costs of the systems referred to in Article 3 and of the controls referred to in this title.

Article 10 U.K.

The measures necessary for the implementation of this Title shall be adopted in accordance with the management procedure referred to in Article 23(2). These measures concern in particular:

(a)

provisions concerning ear tags;

(b)

provisions concerning the passport;

(c)

provisions concerning the register;

(d)

minimum level of controls to be carried out;

(e)

application of administrative sanctions;

(f)

transitional measures required to facilitate the application of this title.

(1)

OJ L 355, 5.12.1992, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1036/1999 (OJ L 127, 21.5.1999, p. 4).

(2)

OJ 121, 29.7.1964, p. 1977/64. Directive updated by Directive 97/12/EC (OJ L 109, 25.4.1997, p. 1 ) and last amended by Directive 98/99/EC (OJ L 358, 31.12.1998, p. 107).