WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/N/CHE/50 
5 May 2006 
 (06-2188) 
Committee on Sanitary and  
Phytosanitary Measures Original:   French 
 
 
 
NOTIFICATION 
 
1. Member to Agreement notifying:  SWITZERLAND  
If applicable, name of local government involved:        
2. Agency responsible:  Federal Veterinary O ffice (FVO), CH-3003 Bern  
3. Products covered (provide tariff item number(s) as specified in national schedules 
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers should be provided in addition, where applicable):  Animals, animal products and foodstuffs.  
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable:  All 
trading partners.  
5. Title, language and number of pages of the notified document:   
Ordonnance concernant la formation, la forma tion qualifiante et le perfectionnement des 
personnes travaillant dans le Service vétérinaire public (Ordinance on Training, 
Qualification-Based Training and Skills Improvement for Public Veterinary Service Staff) (14 pages)  
Modification de l’ordonnance sur les epizooties (Amendment to the Ordinance on 
Epizootics) (18 pages) 
(Available in French, German and Italian)  
6. 
   
 
    Description of content: 
1. Ordinance on Training, Qualification- Based Training and Skills Improvement for  
Public Veterinary Service Staff. 
 
- This ordinance aims to regulate all trai ning requirements for staff working in the 
Public Veterinary Service.  It is ba sed on the Ordinance of 1 March 1995 on the 
Training of Meat Inspection Officials (R S 817.191.54) and will enable structural 
adjustments to be made so that new challenges stemming from the new law on animal welfare and the Switzerland-EC bila teral agreement on trade in agricultural 
products can be met.  
 2. Amendment to the Ordinance on Epizootics  
- Passports for equine animals:  The Ordinance of 18 August 2004 on Veterinary 
Medicinal Products (RS 812.212.27) sets forth special provisions on the use of such 
products for horses.  In order to ensure the safety of foodstuffs, equine passports must also be issued for horses destined for abattoirs.   G/SPS/N/CHE/50 
Page 2  
 
 6. Description of content:  (cont'd) 
- Trade in livestock:  The Amendment of 20 June 2003 to the Law on Epizootics 
(RO 2003 4237) and the electronic system for monitoring movements of animals require the redefining of the provisions relating to trade in livestock.  The question of the introduction of the business tax is being examined in more depth.  The new 
regulations are therefore limited mainly to specifying the responsibilities of 
livestock traders from the standpoint of epizootic control. 
- KODAVET databank:  This new plat form for managing and communicating 
veterinary data should enable the cantons  and the Federal Veterinary Office to 
coordinate the capture, transmission and analysis of data within the Swiss 
Veterinary Service.  The databank is curre ntly in its pilot phase.  The transmission 
of data, the ownership of such data a nd the financing of the databank will be 
regulated later, at ordinance level. 
- Newcastle disease:  Provisions relating to  this highly contagious avian epizootic 
must be amended in view of the current situation regarding avian influenza.  The 
new text proposes, inter alia , measures to be taken in the event of suspected and 
confirmed cases of the disease, which vary  according to the pathogenicity of the 
infection;  the registration of all domestic  poultry farms;  and measures in the event 
that Newcastle disease is found in wild birds living in the wild. 
 Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS):  Simplified import 
requirements for pigs, established durin g the negotiation of the bilateral 
agreements, mean that PRRS must hencef orth be defined as an epizootic to be 
eradicated and that a plan to contro l this disease must be drawn up.  These 
measures will ensure the continued goo d health of the Swiss swine population.  
7. Objective and rationale: [    ] food safety,  [  X ] animal health,  [    ] plant protection, 
[ X ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or disease, [    ] protect territory from 
other damage from pests        
8. International standard, guideline or recommendation: 
[   ] Codex Alimentarius Commission,  [   ] World Organization for Animal Health 
(OIE), [   ] International Plant Protection Convention,  [ X ] None 
If an international standard, guideline or recommendation exists, give the appropriate 
reference and briefly identify deviations:        
9. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available:   
 
Loi fédérale du 9 octobre 1992 sur les denrées a limentaires et les objets usuels (Loi sur les 
denrées alimentaires LDAI; RS 817.0)  (Federal Law of 9 October 1992 on Foodstuffs and 
Basic Commodities (Food Law, LDAI;  RS 817.0))  
http://www.admin.ch/ch/f/rs/c817_0.html  
 
Loi du 1er juillet 1966 sur les épizooties (LFE, RS 916.40)  (Law of 1 July 1966 on 
Epizootics (LFE, RS 916.40))  
http://www.bk.admin.ch/ch/f/rs/c916_40.html  
  G/SPS/N/CHE/50 
 Page 3 
 
 
 10. Proposed date of adoption:  September 2006  
11. Proposed date of entry into force:  1 January 2007  
12. Final date for comments:  1 July 2006  
Agency or authority designated to handle comments:  [  X ] National notification 
authority, [    ] National enquiry point, or add ress, fax number and E-mail address (if 
available) of other body:  sps@seco.admin.ch  
13. Texts available from:  [    ] National notification authority, [  X ] National enquiry 
point, or address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body:   
The notified texts are available online in French, German and Italian at:  
http://www.bvet.admin.ch/bvet/ 00297/01021/index. html?lang=fr            (French)      
http://www.bvet.admin.ch/bvet/002 97/01021/index.ht ml?lang=de           (German) 
http://www.bvet.admin.ch/bvet/ 00297/01021/index. html?lang=it             (Italian)