TITLE IIIU.K.PRODUCTION RULES

CHAPTER 2U.K.Farm production

Article 14U.K.Livestock production rules

1.In addition to the general farm production rules laid down in Article 11, the following rules shall apply to livestock production:

(a)with regard to the origin of the animals:

(i)

organic livestock shall be born and raised on organic holdings;

(ii)

for breeding purposes, non-organically raised animals may be brought onto a holding under specific conditions. Such animals and their products may be deemed organic after compliance with the conversion period referred to in Article 17(1)(c);

(iii)

animals existing on the holding at the beginning of the conversion period and their products may be deemed organic after compliance with the conversion period referred to in Article 17(1)(c);

(b)with regard to husbandry practices and housing conditions:

(i)

personnel keeping animals shall possess the necessary basic knowledge and skills as regards the health and the welfare needs of the animals;

(ii)

husbandry practices, including stocking densities, and housing conditions shall ensure that the developmental, physiological and ethological needs of animals are met;

(iii)

the livestock shall have permanent access to open air areas, preferably pasture, whenever weather conditions and the state of the ground allow this unless restrictions and obligations related to the protection of human and animal health are imposed on the basis of [F1retained EU law];

(iv)

the number of livestock shall be limited with a view to minimising overgrazing, poaching of soil, erosion, or pollution caused by animals or by the spreading of their manure;

(v)

organic livestock shall be kept separate from other livestock. However, grazing of common land by organic animals and of organic land by non-organic animals is permitted under certain restrictive conditions;

(vi)

tethering or isolation of livestock shall be prohibited, unless for individual animals for a limited period of time, and in so far as this is justified for safety, welfare or veterinary reasons;

(vii)

duration of transport of livestock shall be minimised;

(viii)

any suffering, including mutilation, shall be kept to a minimum during the entire life of the animal, including at the time of slaughter;

(ix)

apiaries shall be placed in areas which ensure nectar and pollen sources consisting essentially of organically produced crops or, as appropriate, of spontaneous vegetation or non-organically managed forests or crops that are only treated with low environmental impact methods. Apiaries shall be kept at sufficient distance from sources that may lead to the contamination of beekeeping products or to the poor health of the bees;

(x)

hives and materials used in beekeeping shall be mainly made of natural materials;

(xi)

the destruction of bees in the combs as a method associated with the harvesting of beekeeping products is prohibited;

(c)with regard to breeding:

(i)

reproduction shall use natural methods. Artificial insemination is however allowed;

(ii)

reproduction shall not be induced by treatment with hormones or similar substances, unless as a form of veterinary therapeutic treatment in case of an individual animal;

(iii)

other forms of artificial reproduction, such as cloning and embryo transfer, shall not be used;

(iv)

appropriate breeds shall be chosen. The choice of breeds shall also contribute to the prevention of any suffering and to avoiding the need for the mutilation of animals;

(d)with regard to feed:

(i)

primarily obtaining feed for livestock from the holding where the animals are kept or from other organic holdings in the same region;

(ii)

livestock shall be fed with organic feed that meets the animal's nutritional requirements at the various stages of its development. A part of the ration may contain feed from holdings which are in conversion to organic farming;

(iii)

with the exception of bees, livestock shall have permanent access to pasture or roughage;

(iv)

non organic feed materials from plant origin, feed materials from animal and mineral origin, feed additives, certain products used in animal nutrition and processing aids shall be used only if they have been authorised for use in organic production under Article 16;

(v)

growth promoters and synthetic amino-acids shall not be used;

(vi)

suckling mammals shall be fed with natural, preferably maternal, milk;

(e)with regard to disease prevention and veterinary treatment:

(i)

disease prevention shall be based on breed and strain selection, husbandry management practices, high quality feed and exercise, appropriate stocking density and adequate and appropriate housing maintained in hygienic conditions;

(ii)

disease shall be treated immediately to avoid suffering to the animal; chemically synthesised allopathic veterinary medicinal products including antibiotics may be used where necessary and under strict conditions, when the use of phytotherapeutic, homeopathic and other products is inappropriate. In particular restrictions with respect to courses of treatment and withdrawal periods shall be defined;

(iii)

the use of immunological veterinary medicines is allowed;

(iv)

treatments related to the protection of human and animal health imposed on the basis of [F2retained EU law] shall be allowed;

(f)with regard to cleaning and disinfection, products for cleaning and disinfection in livestock buildings and installations, shall be used only if they have been authorised for use in organic production under Article 16.

2.The measures and conditions necessary for the implementation of the production rules contained in this Article [F3may be adopted by the appropriate authority by regulations].

Textual Amendments