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1.For the purposes of Article 7, Member States shall designate the competent authority responsible for:
(a)ensuring that training courses are available for personnel involved in killing and related operations;
(b)delivering certificates of competence attesting the passing of an independent final examination; the subjects of this examination shall be relevant for the categories of animals concerned and correspond to the operations referred to in Article 7(2) and (3), and to the subjects set out in Annex IV;
(c)approving training programmes of the courses referred to in point (a) and the content and modalities of the examination referred in point (b).
2.The competent authority may delegate the final examination and the issuance of the certificate of competence to a separate body or entity which:
(a)has the expertise, staff and equipment necessary to do so;
(b)is independent and free from any conflict of interest as regards the final examination and the issuance of the certificates of competence.
The competent authority may also delegate the organisation of the training courses to a separate body or entity which has the expertise, staff and equipment necessary to do so.
The details of bodies and entities to which such tasks have been delegated shall be made publicly available by the competent authority via the Internet.
3.Certificates of competence shall indicate for which categories of animals, type of equipment and for which of the operations listed in Article 7(2) or (3) the certificate is valid.
4.Member States shall recognise certificates of competence issued in another Member State.
5.The competent authority may issue temporary certificates of competence provided that:
(a)the applicant is registered in one of the training courses referred to in paragraph 1(a);
(b)the applicant is to work in the presence and under the direct supervision of another person who holds a certificate of competence issued for the specific activity to be undertaken;
(c)the validity of the temporary certificate does not exceed three months; and
(d)the applicant provides a written declaration stating that he/she has not previously been issued another temporary certificate of competence of the same scope or demonstrates to the satisfaction of the competent authority that he/she was unable to take the final examination.
6.Without prejudice to a decision by a judicial authority or by a competent authority prohibiting the handling of animals, certificates of competence, including a temporary certificate of competence, shall only be issued if the applicant provides a written declaration stating that he/she has committed no serious infringement of Community law and/or national law on the protection of animals in the three years preceding the date of application for such a certificate.
7.Member States may recognise qualifications obtained for other purposes as equivalent to certificates of competence for the purposes of this Regulation provided that they have been obtained under conditions equivalent to those laid down in this Article. The competent authority shall make publicly available and keep up to date, via the Internet, a list of qualifications recognised as equivalent to the certificate of competence.
8.Community guidelines for the application of paragraph 1 of this Article may be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 25(2).