. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
G/TBT/N/CZE/157 
2 May 2012  
 (12-2335) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   English 
  
 
NOTIFICATION 
 
The following notification is being circ ulated in accordance with Article 10.6 
 
1. Notifying Member:  CZECH REPUBLIC  
If applicable, name of local governme nt involved (Article 3.2 and 7.2):     
2. Agency responsible:  Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic   
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, email and website 
addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above :    
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [X], 2.10.1 [   ], 5.6.2 [   ], 5.7.1 [   ], other:   
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading. 
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):  Animal products  (HS  02)  
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:  Draft Regulation on the 
veterinary requirements for sl aughtering crocodiles and further processing of meat and animal 
products originating from crocodiles (10 pages, in Czech).     
6. Description of content:  The Draft Regulation establishes veterinary requirements for 
establishments, plants and other facilities in which animal products originating from 
crocodiles are handled, the techni cal conditions of the construction of said establishments and 
other facilities, their organisation and furnis hing; it furthermore regulates the method of 
preparing crocodiles, their bodies, meat and organs for veterinary examination and in 
connection with veterinary examination, ex amination of crocodiles and animal products 
originating from crocodiles, assessment and desi gnation of said products on the basis of their 
veterinary examination, as well as the veterina ry conditions for releasing said products into 
circulation.  
The draft of the legisla tion was created in consideration of  the fact that the hygiene rules 
established by European Parlia ment and Council Regulation (E C) No 853/2004 establishing 
special hygiene rules for food products of an imal origin apply to the slaughtering and 
processing of specifically na med species of farm animals. The crocodile is not included 
among the animals whose animal products the direct ly applicable legislation applies to; it is a 
harmonised commodity, which Memb er States may regulate with a national regulation, which 
must be notified.   
Farming of crocodiles and its use as an animal intended for slaughter wh ose meat is intended 
for human consumption is spreading in Europe  and crocodiles are already being farmed for 
this purpose in the Czech Republic. These animal s have already matured to slaughter size at 
present. For the present, no other method of regulating the population of  animals raised this 
way has been found other than  their use for slaughter G/TBT/N/CZE/157 
Page 2  
 
  7. Objective and rationale, including the na ture of urgent problems where applicable:  
Slaughtering of crocodiles, examining a nd processing crocodiles and animal products 
originating from crocodiles.  
8. Relevant documents:   References to primary texts: Th e Ministry is authorised to issue 
regulations for the implementation of Secti on 21 Paragraph 15, Sec tion 23 Paragraph 4 and 
Section 24 Paragraph 2 Letter a) by the provi sions of Section 78 of Act No 166/1999 Coll. on 
veterinary care and am ending certain related laws (the Ve terinary Act), as amended.    
9. Proposed date of adoption:   
Proposed date of entry into force:    1 October 2012  
10. Final date for comments:  1 September 2012  
11. Text available from:  National enquiry point [X], or address, telephone and fax 
numbers, e-mail and web-site addresse s, if available of the other body:  
http://www.unmz.cz /, wto.tbt@unmz.cz  
http://members.wto.org/crnatt achments/2012/tbt/CZE/12_1626_00_e.pdf