. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/N/NZL/88
20 March 2001
(01-1351)
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:  English
NOTIFICATION OF EMERGENCY MEASURES
1. Member to Agreement notifying:  NEW ZEALAND
If applicable, name of local government involved:           
2. Agency responsible:  Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF)
3. Products covered (provide tariff item number(s) as specified in national schedules
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where
applicable).  Deer and elk velvet  Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent
relevant or practicable:  United Kingdom
4. Title and number of pages of the notified document:  Import health standard for the
importation of deer/elk velvet into New Zealand from specified countries (3 pages)
5. Description of content:  This import health standard permits the importation of deer/elk
velvet from various countries recognized as fr ee from foot-and-mouth disease.  The standard
includes the following safeguards:
(a) the exporting country must certify that they have remained free from foot-and-
mouth disease and rinderpest for 12 months;
(b) the products must be derived from live animals;  OR
(c) the products must be derived from animals slaughtered in a government licensed
slaughtering establishment and which passed ante-mortem and post-mortem
inspection.
6. Objective and rationale:  [     ] food safety,  [  X ] animal health,  [     ] plant protection,
[    ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or disease, [     ] protect territory from
other damage from pests           
7. Nature of the urgent problem(s):  The original import health standard was revoked
following confirmation of an outbreak of f oot-and-mouth disease in the United Kingdom.
The animal health measures in the import hea lth standard had originally been developed to
enable trade from countries recognized as free from foot-and-mouth disease.  Therefore, these
measures were inadequate to allow trade to continue from a foot-and-mouth disease infected
country/zone.  A new import heath standard with the same conditions, except for removing
the United Kingdom as a country of origin, has been issued.
Import health standards allowing for the trade of cloven-hoofed live animals, viable genetic
material and animal products from the United Kingdom have been temporarily suspended.The suspension will be reviewed once the extent of the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak is
known and United Kingdom authorities have the disease under control.  New Zealand will
then consider reinstating the import standards if the United Kingdom has been able to
effectively regionalize the disease.G/SPS/N/NZL/88
Page 2
8. An international standard, guideline or recommendation does not exist [  X ].
If an international standard, guideline or recommendation exists, give its appropriate
reference and briefly identify deviations:
9. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available:  None
10. Date of entry into force/period of application (as applicable):  26 February 2001
11. Texts available from/and agency or authority designated to handle comments:
[ X ] National notification authority, [     ] National enquiry point or address, fax
number and E-mail address (if available) of other body:
Text:  Keawe Woodmore, Coordinator, New Zealand SPS Notification Authority, PO Box
2526, Wellington, New Zealand;  Tel:  64 4 474 4226;  Fax:  +64 4 470 2730;  E-mail:
sps@maf.govt.nz
Comments: Barbara Christensen, National Ad viser, International Trade, Biosecurity
Authority, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, PO Box 2526, Wellington, New Zealand.
Tel:  +64 4 498 9807;  Fax:  +64 4 474 4133;  E-mail: christensenb@maf.govt.nz