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Council Regulation (EC) No 21/2004 of 17 December 2003 establishing a system for the identification and registration of ovine and caprine animals and amending Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 and Directives 92/102/EEC and 64/432/EEC
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Textual Amendments
ensure at least one visible and one electronically readable mark;
remain attached to the animal without being harmful to it; and
be easily removable from the food chain.
either the two-letter alpha code or the three-digit numeric code (1) , based on ISO 3166, for the Member State in which the holding where the animal was first identified is situated (country code);
an individual animal code of no more than 12 digits.
In addition to the codes referred to in points (a) and (b), and provided that the legibility of those codes is not affected, the competent authority may authorise a bar code and the addition of supplementary information by the keeper.
an electronic identifier in the form of a ruminal bolus or an electronic eartag, in accordance with the technical characteristics listed in point 6; or
an eartag made of non-degradable material, which is tamper-proof and easy to read throughout the lifetime of the animal; it must be non-reusable and the codes referred to in point 2 must be non-removable.
for animals identified in accordance with point 3(a):
an eartag which complies with the criteria set out in point 3(b); or
a mark on the pastern which complies with the criteria for eartags set out in point 3(b); or
a tattoo, except for animals involved in intra-Community trade;
for animals identified in accordance with point 3(b):
an electronic identifier which complies with the criteria set out in point 3(a); or
for animals not involved in intra-Community trade, an electronic identifier in the form of an electronic mark on the pastern or of an injectable transponder in accordance with the technical characteristics listed in point 6; or
where electronic identification is not obligatory, pursuant to Article 9(3):
an eartag, which complies with the criteria set out in point 3(b),
a mark on the pastern, which complies with the criteria for the eartags set out in point 3(b), or
a tattoo.
they must be read-only passive transponders applying HDX or FDX-B technology, complying with ISO standards 11784 and 11785;
they must be readable by reading devices, complying with ISO standard 11785, capable of reading HDX and FDX-B transponders;
the reading distance must be:
a minimum of 12 cm for eartags and marks on the pastern when read with a portable readers;
a minimum of 20 cm for ruminal boluses and injectable transponders when read with a portable reader;
a minimum of 50 cm for all types of identifiers when read with a stationary reader.
the animals must be identified by an eartag approved by the competent authority, applied to one ear;
the eartag must be of non-degradable material, tamper-proof and easy to read; it must be non-reusable and must bear only non-removable codes;
the eartag must contain at least the following information:
the two-letter country code (1) ; and
the identification code of the holding of birth or an individual animal code from which the holding of birth can be determined.
Member States using that alternative method must inform the Commission and the other Member States thereof, in the framework of the Committee referred to in Article 13(1).
[F2Animals identified in accordance with this point intended to be kept beyond the age of 12 months or intended for intra-Community trade or export to third countries, must be identified in accordance with points 1 to 4 to ensure complete traceability of each animal to the holding of birth.]
Textual Amendments
Textual Amendments
the identification code of the holding;
the address of the holding and the geographical coordinates or equivalent indication of the geographical location of the holding;
the type of production;
the result of the latest inventory referred to in Article 7 and the date on which it was carried out;
the name and address of the keeper;
in the case of animals leaving the holding:
the name of the transporter;
the registration number of the part of the means of transport carrying the animals;
the identification code or the name and address of the holding of destination or, in the case of animals moved to a slaughterhouse, the identification code or name of the slaughterhouse and the date of departure;
or a duplicate or a certified copy of the movement document referred to in Article 6;
in the case of animals arriving on the holding, the identification code of the holding from which the animal was transferred and the date of arrival;
information on any replacement of means of identification.
Textual Amendments
F4 Inserted by Council Regulation (EU) No 517/2013 of 13 May 2013 adapting certain regulations and decisions in the fields of free movement of goods, freedom of movement for persons, company law, competition policy, agriculture, food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy, transport policy, energy, taxation, statistics, trans-European networks, judiciary and fundamental rights, justice, freedom and security, environment, customs union, external relations, foreign, security and defence policy and institutions, by reason of the accession of the Republic of Croatia.
the identification code of the animal;
in the holding of birth, the year of birth and date of identification;
the month and the year of death of the animal on the holding;
if known, the breed and the genotype.
However, for animals identified in accordance with point 7 of Section A, the information set out in (a) to (d) of this point must be provided for each batch of animals having the same identification and must include the number of animals.
the identification code of the holding;
the name and address of the keeper;
the total number of animals moved;
the identification code or the name and address of the holding of destination or of the next keeper of the animals or, when animals are moved to a slaughterhouse, the identification code or the name and location of the slaughterhouse, or, in the event of transhumance, the place of destination;
the data concerning the means of transport and the transporter, including the transporter’s permit number;
the date of departure;
the signature of the keeper.
By way of derogation from the first subparagraph, the competent authority may authorise for movements not involving intra-Community trade the recording of the individual identification code of each animal at destination on behalf of the keeper of the holding of departure subject to the following conditions:
the animals are not transported in the same means of transport as animals from other holdings, unless the batches of animals are physically separated from each other;
the holding of destination is approved by the competent authority for the purpose of recording individual animal codes on behalf of the keeper of the holding of departure;
procedures are in place to ensure that within 48 hours of the time of departure:
the individual identification code of each animal is recorded in accordance with point 2(a) of Section B in the holding register of the holding of departure;
the information relating to the movement is provided to the competent authority to update the computer database in accordance with point 2 of Section D.]
on their movement to a slaughterhouse, directly or via a channelling procedure excluding subsequent movements to any other holding;
[F5until 31 December 2014 for all other movements.]
Textual Amendments
the identification code of the holding;
the address of the holding and the geographical coordinates or equivalent indication of the geographical location of the holding;
the name and address and occupation of the keeper;
the species of animals;
the type of production;
[F2the result of the inventory of animals provided for in Article 7(2), and the date when that inventory was carried out, except in Member States where the centralised computer database contains the individual identification code of each animal kept on a holding;]
a data field reserved for the competent authority in which it may enter animal health information, for example restrictions on movements, status or other relevant information in the context of Community or national programmes.
That entry must comprise at least the following information:
the number of animals being moved;
the identification code of the holding of departure;
the date of departure;
the identification code of the holding of arrival;
the date of arrival.]
Austria | AT | 040 |
Belgium | BE | 056 |
Bulgaria | BG | 100 |
Croatia | HR | 191 |
Cyprus | CY | 196 |
Czech Republic | CZ | 203 |
Denmark | DK | 208 |
Estonia | EE | 233 |
Finland | FI | 246 |
France | FR | 250 |
Germany | DE | 276 |
Greece | EL | 300 |
Hungary | HU | 348 |
Ireland | IE | 372 |
Italy | IT | 380 |
Latvia | LV | 428 |
Lithuania | LT | 440 |
Luxembourg | LU | 442 |
Malta | MT | 470 |
Netherlands | NL | 528 |
Poland | PL | 616 |
Portugal | PT | 620 |
Romania | RO | 642 |
Slovakia | SK | 703 |
Slovenia | SI | 705 |
Spain | ES | 724 |
Sweden | SE | 752 |
United Kingdom | UK | 826 |
[F1 [F3 OJ L 268, 14.9.1992, p. 54 .] ]
Textual Amendments
F1 Substituted by Commission Regulation (EC) No 933/2008 of 23 September 2008 amending the Annex to Council Regulation (EC) No 21/2004 as regards the means of identification of animals and the content of the movement documents (Text with EEA relevance).
F3 Inserted by Commission Regulation (EU) No 506/2010 of 14 June 2010 amending the Annex to Council Regulation (EC) No 21/2004 as regards ovine and caprine animals kept in zoos (Text with EEA relevance).
F4 Inserted by Council Regulation (EU) No 517/2013 of 13 May 2013 adapting certain regulations and decisions in the fields of free movement of goods, freedom of movement for persons, company law, competition policy, agriculture, food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy, transport policy, energy, taxation, statistics, trans-European networks, judiciary and fundamental rights, justice, freedom and security, environment, customs union, external relations, foreign, security and defence policy and institutions, by reason of the accession of the Republic of Croatia.
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