1.Before issuing an identification document, the issuing body, or the person acting on its behalf, shall take all appropriate measures to:
(a)verify that no such identification document has already been issued for the equine animal concerned;
(b)prevent the fraudulent issuing of multiple identification documents for an individual equine animal.
2.The measures provided for in paragraph 1 shall include:
(a)consulting the appropriate documentation and electronic records available;
(b)estimating the age of the equine animal;
(c)checking the equine animal, as provided for in Article 17, for any signs or marks indicative of any previous identification.
1.The measures to detect possible signs or marks indicative of previous identification, as provided for in Article 16, shall include, at least, measures to detect:
(a)any transponder previously implanted, using a reading device complying with ISO standard 11785 and capable of reading at least HDX and FDX-B transponders at least when the reader is in direct contact with the body surface on the spot where under normal circumstances a transponder is implanted;
(b)any clinical signs indicating that a transponder previously implanted or a mark previously applied in accordance with Article 21 has been surgically removed or altered;
(c)any sign or indication that an alternative method of identity verification was applied to the equine animal in accordance with Article 21.
2.Where, following the application by the keeper in accordance with Article 11(1), the measures provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article reveal the existence of a previously implanted transponder, or any alternative method of identity verification applied in accordance with Article 21 indicative of a completed previous identification in accordance with Article 9, the issuing body shall:
(a)issue a duplicate or replacement identification document in accordance with Article 29 or 32, depending on the information available;
(b)enter that information, i.e. the transponder number or the alternative method of identity verification, in an appropriate way in the form fields of Part A and the outline diagram in Part B of Section I of the identification document.
3.Where the undocumented removal of a transponder or alternative method of identity verification referred to in paragraph 1(b) of this Article is confirmed in an equine animal born in the Union, the issuing body shall issue a replacement identification document in accordance with Article 32.
4.By way of derogation from paragraph 2 of this Article, the competent authority may authorise the issuing of an identification document in accordance with Article 9 for equidae living under wild or semi-wild conditions referred to in Article 13 which carry a transponder but for which, in accordance with Article 13, no identification document was issued, provided that the code of the transponder was recorded at the time of implantation in the database of the issuing body responsible for that population of equidae.
1.The issuing body shall ensure that at the time it is first identified in accordance with Article 12, a transponder is implanted in the equine animal.
2.The transponder shall be implanted parenterally under aseptic conditions between the poll and withers in the middle of the neck in the area of the nuchal ligament.
However, the competent authority may authorise the implantation of the transponder at a different place on the neck of the equine animal, provided that such alternative implantation does not:
(a)compromise the welfare of the equine animal;
(b)increase the risk of migration of the transponder compared to the method referred to in the first subparagraph.
3.Member States shall lay down the minimum qualification required for the intervention provided for in paragraph 2 or designate the person (‘the qualified person’) or profession entrusted with such operations.
4.Issuing bodies referred to in Article 5(1)(a) and (b) may require that equine animals which were identified by use of an alternative method of identity verification provided for in Article 21 are to be marked by implantation of a transponder for the purpose of the entry or registration of equidae in studbooks or the registration of registered horses for competition purposes.
5.Issuing bodies referred to in Article 5(1) and the competent authority may require that equine animals deemed to be identified in accordance with Articles 4(2) and 43(1), are to be marked by the implantation of a transponder for the purpose of identity verification in cases where:
(a)previously implanted and recorded transponders have ceased to function;
(b)the inherent or acquired mark recorded as the alternative method of identity verification referred to in Article 21 is no longer suitable for that purpose; or
(c)the competent authority considers it necessary to ensure identity verification.
1.Member States shall lay down rules, in accordance with the standards referred to in point (n)(i) of Article 2, to ensure the uniqueness of the codes displayed by the transponders implanted by issuing bodies referred to in Article 5(1) where they issue identification documents in accordance with Article 9.
2.The rules laid down in accordance with paragraph 1 shall be applied without compromising the system of identification laid down by the issuing body in another Member State that carried out the identification of a registered equine animal in accordance with this Regulation.
1.When a transponder is implanted in accordance with Article 18, the issuing body shall enter the following information in the identification document:
(a)in point 5 of Part A of Section I, at least the last 15 digits of the code transmitted by the transponder and displayed by the reader following implantation; and where appropriate:
a self-adhesive sticker with a bar-code, provided the page is sealed afterwards; or
a print of that bar-code encoding at least those last 15 digits of the code transmitted by the transponder;
(b)in point 12 or 13 of the outline diagram in Part B of Section I, depending on the side where the transponder was implanted, the place where the transponder has been implanted into the equine animal and read after its implantation;
(c)in point 19 of the outline diagram in Part B of Section I, the signature of either the veterinarian or the qualified person who carried out the identification by completing point 3 of Part A and the outline diagram in Part B of Section I and read the code displayed by the transponder after its implantation, or of the person reproducing this information for the purpose of issuing the identification document in accordance with the rules of the issuing body.
2.By way of derogation from paragraph 1(a) of this Article, where an equine animal is marked with a previously implanted transponder which does not comply with the ISO standards referred to in point (n)(i) of Article 2, the name of the manufacturer or the reading system shall be inserted in point 5 of Part A of Section I in the identification document.
1.By way of derogation from Article 18(1), Member States may authorise suitable alternative methods of identity verification of equidae born in the Union, including marks, which meet the requirements of Article 4(1)(b) and ensure that the identity of the equine animal recorded in the identification document can be verified.
2.Member States shall ensure that:
(a)the alternative methods of identity verification of equidae are not used as the sole means of identity verification of the majority of equidae identified in accordance with this Regulation on their territory;
(b)visible marks applied to equidae for breeding and production cannot be confused with those reserved on their territory for use by issuing bodies referred to in Article 5(1)(a) on registered equidae;
(c)any authorised alternative method of identity verification or any combination of those methods deliver at least the same guarantees as the transponder implanted in accordance with Article 18;
(d)the information on the alternative method of identity verification applied to an individual equine animal can be described in a format capable of being digitalised and stored in a searchable way in a database established in accordance with Article 38.
3.Member States intending to make use of the derogation provided for in paragraph 1 shall make information on their authorised alternative methods of identity verification available to the Commission, the other Member States and the public on the website referred to in Article 6(1).
1.The issuing body shall ensure that no identification document is issued for an equine animal, unless:
(a)the correct application of the authorised alternative method of identity verification referred to in Article 21 has been checked;
(b)the used method of identity verification is entered in point 6 or 7 of Part A of Section I, or where applicable in Section XI, of the identification document and recorded in the database in accordance with Article 38(1)(f).
2.Where an alternative method of identity verification is used, the keeper shall provide the means of accessing that identification information or shall, if applicable, bear the costs or endure the delays of verifying the identity of the equine animal.