WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/853 
20 June 2008 
 (08-2935) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English/ 
 French/  Spanish 
 
  
REPORT ON OIE ACTIVITIES TO THE MEETING OF THE SPS COMMITTEE 
TO BE HELD ON 24-25 JUNE 2008 
 
Communication by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE)
 
  
 The following communication, received on 18 June 2008, is being circulated at the request of 
the OIE
. 
 
_______________ 
 
 1. The World Organisation for Animal Health (O IE) is pleased to provide this report for 
information of Members of the SPS Committee. 
2. The OIE's 76
th General Session took place in Pari s on 25-30 May 2008. More than 600 
participants representing the 172 OIE Member Countries and Territories, intergovernmental 
(including FAO, WHO, Codex and WTO), regional and national organizations  attended the meeting. 
1. Annual report and working programme 
3. Dr Vallat, Director General of the OIE, presented the OIE Annual Report and work 
programme for 2009.  The World Animal Health and Welfare Fund continued to be used, notably to 
address the priority objective of improving governance of Veterinary Services, in particular through 
the application of the OIE PVS Tool (Performance of Veterinary Services).  PVS Evaluation missions 
have been conducted in 56 Member countries at  the end of May 2008, with the support of 
international donors, with the goal of improving an imal health governance worldwide.  Dr Vallat 
emphasized the continuation of related activities and highlighted the two stages in using the OIE PVS 
Tool; the first being the "diagnosis" (evaluation) a nd the second being the "treatment" (needs analysis 
with respect to OIE standards and preparation of national investment programmes).  A third element 
concerns the conduct of follow-up missions by OI E-certified PVS experts.  The OIE continued to 
closely support capacity building activities of vete rinary services in developing countries and to 
participate in the WTO STDF and the ALive platform for Africa. 
4. International organizations that have a C ooperation Agreement with the OIE (including 
Codex, WHO, FAO, WTO), made presentations on th eir work programmes, with particular reference 
to the importance of their relationship with the OIE. 
5. Formal Cooperation Agreements  were adopted with the International Council for the 
Exploration of the Sea (ICES), the Internationa l Air Transport Association (IATA), the Inter-
American Development Bank (IDB) and the W est African Economic and Monetary Union 
(UEMOA). G/SPS/GEN/853 
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  6. In addition, the OIE signed an Agreement with  the International Poultry Council (IPC) and 
with the International Council for Laboratory Animal Science (ICLAS), the latter covering 
collaboration on issues of mutual interest regarding the welfare of animals u sed in scientific research. 
7. Dr Vallat highlighted progress on a very important objective of the OIE and FAO, i.e. to 
declare the world free of rinderp est within the next decade. 
2. OIE work in Animal Production Food Safety  
8. Highlights of the OIE's work in animal production food safety in 2007-8 included; 
• Guidance to Members on the Role of Veterinary Services in Food Safety; 
• Forthcoming publication of an OIE/FAO Guide to Good Farming practice; 
• The OIE will hold an international conferen ce on Animal Identification and Traceability 
in Buenos Aires in March 2009.  Details may be found on the OIE Internet site at:  
http://www.oie.int/eng/traceability-2009/index.html
; 
• Revised Model Veterinary Certificat es harmonized with relevant Codex 
recommendations where possible; 
• Recommendations on the prevention and control of Salmonellosis in poultry;  and 
• This year the OIE is working on the food saf ety and animal health issues associated with 
the use of recombinant DNA derived vaccines and on methods for identification and 
tracing of animals and animal products resulting from biotechnology interventions. 
3. 2nd OIE Global Conference on Animal Welfare  
9. The OIE will hold a 2nd Global Conference on Animal Welfare "Putting the OIE Standards to 
Work" in Cairo, Egypt, on 20-22 October 2008.  Details on the conference may be found on the OIE 
Internet site at:  http://www.oie.int/eng/A_AW2008/home.htm  
4. The International Trade Standards of the Terrestrial Animal Health Code 
10. The OIE continues to work on updating the Terr estrial Animal Health Code (Terrestrial 
Code), which is a key reference for international trad e, with the adoption of 48 new or revised texts.  
Highlights include: 
• The adoption of new Model Veterinary Certificates; 
• Adoption of "General guidelines on compar tmentalization" and the concept of a 
"Containment zone", as a trade facilitating mechanism in the situation of a disease 
incursion; 
• BSE continues to generate much discussion.   After much discussion, the inclusion of 
skulls and vertebral columns from cattle in countries of controlled/undetermined risk in 
the production of gelatine was not supported.  This year the OIE will initiate a discussion 
on modifying the current 30-month age restriction for international trade in bovine meat; 
• The possible application of the compartmentalis ation principle to countries in which wild 
suidae are infected with classi cal swine fever was discussed; 
• New harmonized texts on avian influenz a and Newcastle disease were adopted; 
• Revised guidelines on identification and traceability  of animals, biotechnology in animal 
production and on the Role of Veterinary Services in Food Safety were adopted;  G/SPS/GEN/853 
 Page 3 
 
 
  • The International Committee not ed that the ad hoc Group on Trade in Animal Products 
("commodities") will be held in July.  Th e Group will examine how the standards could 
be modified or applied to assist countries that are not able to achieve or maintain country/zonal freedom with science-based r ecommendations on safe trade of animal 
products.  The modification of some existing standards will necessita te the development 
of scientific research programmes on the infectivity of products;  and 
• With effect from 2008, the Terrestrial Code  will be published as two volumes.  One will 
contain horizontal chapters and the second will contain specific disease chapters and related appendices (e.g. guidelines on surveilla nce and risk analysis for specified 
diseases). 
5. Laboratory Standards  
11. A new edition of the OIE Terrestrial Manual, harmonized with the Terrestrial Code , will 
shortly be released. 
12. The International Committee accredited the appli cation of five new Collaborating Centres and 
eight Reference Laboratories, bringing the tota l OIE global network of scientific expertise to 
208 institutes worldwide. 
13. There is considerable interest in the OIE Tw inning Initiative for laboratories, which provides 
a pathway for in-transition/developing countri es to access the OIE network of excellence.  
14. Delegates adopted a resolution requiring that Members reporting outbreaks of highly 
pathogenic avian influenza rapidly share biological ma terial and data with the international scientific 
community (see Annex 1).  Members have unanim ously agreed to use the OIE/FAO Network of 
Expertise on Avian Influenza (OFFLU) a nd the private international GISAID
1 database as a way of 
disseminating this information, to suppor t timely preparation of human vaccines.  
6. Official OIE recognition of the sanitary status of Members 
15. The International Committee approved a list of coun tries or zones that had applied for official 
OIE recognition of their sanitary status concerning four priority diseases, i.e.:  bovine spongiform 
encephalopathy (BSE), foot and mouth disease, cont agious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) and 
rinderpest.  In addition, new resolutions on procedur es for the official recognition and maintenance of 
country/zone status were adopted (see Annex 2).  
16. As the OIE Director-General Dr Bernard Vallat reminded the members of the International 
Committee, applications are studied following a very democratic process that involves renowned 
international experts and the elected members of th e OIE Scientific Commission for Animal Diseases. 
The delegates of all 172 Members Delegates have  the opportunity to question all proposals for 
recognition of status by the OIE.  
17. This year the OIE recognized a record number of countries' BSE status.  The OIE now 
recognizes 41 members as having a "controlled risk" or a "negligible risk" status (see Annex 3). 
18. The OIE is a unique intergovernmental agency gr anting official status for specified animal 
diseases, including BSE. 
19. Five Members or zones of Members were recognized as free of FMD with or without 
vaccination (see Annex 4).  
                                                      
1 Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data. G/SPS/GEN/853 
Page 4  
 
  20. The OIE granted 13 Members the official status of rinderpest freedom (see Annex 5). 
7. Other Resolutions 
21. Technical Resolutions were passed by the International Committee, after the presentation of 
the following subjects by international specialists: 
(a) Participation of small farmers in animal health programmes: 
22. The role of small farmers in the surveillance and early detection of animal diseases is crucial. 
They must be trained so they can act as key partners of Veterinary Services.  The relevant resolution is presented at Annex 6. 
(b) Implication of private standards in interna tional trade of animals and animal products:  
23. Delegates discussed the problem of animal health and animal welfare standards established 
unilaterally by private companies without direct involvement of governments.  Noting that OIE Members are concerned at the potential for such pr ivate standards to conflict with the official 
standards established by the OIE, members passed a resolution calling for action to address this issue 
(see Annex 7). 
(c) Food security:  
24. Emphasizing the importance of the OIE mandate in  relation to the global availability of foods 
of animal origin, thanks to the control of anim al diseases, the OIE adopted a specific resolution on 
food security (see Annex 8).   G/SPS/GEN/853 
 Page 5 
 
 
  Annex 1  
RESOLUTION No. XXVI 
 
Sharing of avian influenza viral material and information 
in support of global avian influenza prevention and control 
 
 CONSIDERING THAT  
Avian influenza is a global problem that poses an  ongoing threat to animal and human health. 
Global control strategies must focus on c ontrolling the disease at the animal source. 
Avian influenza is a transboundary disease that has th e ability to spread rapidly across continents. An 
outbreak of avian influenza in any one country is  a threat to the whole international community. 
It is paramount that any changes in the virologi cal characteristics of avian influenza viruses resulting 
in increased risks to animal or human health are detected early. 
Countries reporting outbreaks of avian influenza are r esponsible for sharing mate rial and data with the 
international scientific community in a timely manne r to ensure that this is freely available to 
formulate global control and preparedness strategies.  
Genetic information about current circulating fiel d viruses is needed for the early development and 
preparation of human influenza vaccines and to facilitate accurate laboratory diagnosis. 
OFFLU is the joint OIE-FAO network of exper tise on avian influenza. The objectives of OFFLU 
include encouraging members to exchange scientific  data and biological materials (including virus 
strains) within the network and to share such info rmation with the wider scientific community, and to 
collaborate with the WHO influenza network on issues relating to the animal–human interface, 
including early preparation of human vaccine.  
All information about avian influenza viruses that can lead to the development of more effective 
prevention and control policies is a global public  good and should be put into the public domain 
without delay. 
 
THE COMMITTEE  
RECOMMENDS THAT 
 1. OIE Members reporting outbreaks of avian influen za should agree to share animal avian influenza 
viral material and information about avia n influenza viruses through OFFLU with the 
international scientific community.  
2. OIE Reference Laboratories must actively encourage sharing of material and data with the 
international scientific community, and as a mini mum deposit genetic data within 3 months of 
receiving an isolate into a public database desi gnated by the OFFLU Steering Committee, which 
will manage scientific relations with the WHO.  G/SPS/GEN/853 
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  3. To enhance cooperation and transparency, the acti ons taken by countries must be recognised in 
subsequent publications and other be nefits arising from the use of bi ological material or data that 
they have submitted to OIE Reference Laboratories.  
_______________ 
  
(Adopted by the International Committee of the OIE on 29 May 2008)  G/SPS/GEN/853 
 Page 7 
 
 
  Annex 2  
RESOLUTION No. XXII 
 
Update on procedures for Members for the official recognition 
and maintenance of status of certain animal diseases 
 
 CONSIDERING THAT  
1. The International Committee during its 67
th General Session has adopted Resolution XVI 
describing the general procedure to follow by OI E Members wishing to achieve an officially 
recognised status for foot and mouth di sease (FMD), rinderpest, contagious bovine 
pleuropneumonia (CBPP) and bovine spongifo rm encephalopathy (BSE), according to the 
provisions of the relevant chapters of the Terrestrial Animal Health Code . 
2. This procedure invites Delegates of the appli cant OIE Members for recognition to submit to the 
OIE Central Bureau documentation for analysis  by the Scientific Commission for Animal 
Diseases (Scientific Commission) and its designated experts. 
3. Recognition of the status following the proposal made by the Scientific Commission is contingent 
upon a 60 day consultative period by all Members' Delegates and the corresponding Resolutions containing the established disease specific list are submitted for adoption to the International 
Committee. 
4. Regarding FMD, rinderpest and CBPP, the recogniti on of an official disease status is suspended 
upon an outbreak in a previously recognized nati onal territory or zone for this disease, as soon as 
the outbreak is declared by the Delegate of the affected OIE Member; 
5. Regarding BSE, the official BSE status of a count ry or zone, is determined on the basis of risk. 
This status should be re-assessed in the event of any change in the epidemiological situation.  
6. Resolution XII of the 65
th General Session (FMD), Resolution XVI (RP) and XV (BSE) of the 
69th General Session and Resolution XXIII of 72nd the General Session (CBPP), required that Delegates of Members where countries or zones ar e recognised for a disease free status or their 
BSE risk, should confirm by official letter during the month of November of each year that their official disease free status or BSE risk status a nd the criteria by which that status was recognised 
have remained unchanged; 
7. During the 70
th General Session, the International Committee adopted Resolution No. XVIII 
asking Members applying for evaluation for offici ally recognized status of certain diseases to 
meet part of the costs sustained by the OI E Central Bureau in the evaluation process; 
8. During the 65th and 72nd General Session, the Internationa l Committee adopted Resolutions No. 
XVII and XXIV, respectively, delegating to the Scie ntific Commission the authority to recognise, 
without further International Comm ittee consultation, that a Member country or zone has regained 
its previously recognised disease free status follo wing outbreaks that are eradicated in accordance 
with the relevant provisions of the Terrestrial Code; 
9. During the 75th General Session the International Committee approved the addition of 
Article 2.2.10.7 to the Terrestrial Code allowi ng a Member to establish a FMD containment zone 
for the purpose of minimising the impact of an outbreak of foot and mouth disease on an entire 
free country or zone; G/SPS/GEN/853 
Page 8  
 
  10. Information published by the OIE is derived from declarations made by the OIE Delegate of 
Members and that the OIE is not responsible fo r inaccurate publication of country disease status 
based on inaccurate information or changes in epid emiological status or other significant events 
that were not promptly reported to the Central Bu reau subsequent to the time of initial declaration. 
 
 
THE COMMITTEE  RECOMMENDS   
1. That OIE Members wishing to be officially recognized and listed for a specific disease status have 
to provide documented evidence that they comp ly with the disease specific provisions of the 
Terrestrial  Code for the recognition for disease status as well as the specific guidelines  contained 
in disease specific country questionnaires endorsed  by the Scientific Commission for Animal 
Diseases and the general provisions for veterinary services as outlined in Chapters 1.1.2, 1.3.3 and 
1.3.4 of the Terrestrial Code,  
2. That the Scientific Commission, following the ev aluation of documented evidence provided by a 
Member for the recognition or reinstatement of a specific disease status, could in consultation 
with the Director General of the OIE, request if needed a mission of experts to the applicant 
Member to verify compliance by that Member with the provisions of the Terrestrial Code  for the 
control of that particular disease.  
3. That in the event of the allocation of an official  status to a new zone adjacent to another zone 
having already the same official status, the Dele gate should indicate in writing to the Director 
General whether the new zone should be merged wi th the adjoining zone to become one enlarged 
zone or whether the two zones shall be ma naged as two distinct zones by the Member. 
4. That recognition by the International Committee of the disease status of a Member following the 
recommendation made by the Scientific Commission  is contingent upon a 60 day consultative 
period by all Members’ Delegates for all new app lications for disease status recognition, change 
in the category of disease free status or disease risk status as specified in the Terrestrial Code or 
change in the boundaries of an existing free zone. 
5. To delegate to the Scientific Commission the aut hority to recognise, without further International 
Committee consultation, that a Member country or a zone within its territory has regained its 
previously recognised status of the same zone fo llowing outbreaks or infections as appropriate, in 
accordance with the relevant provisions of the Terrestrial Code.  
6. To delegate to the Scientific Commission the aut hority to recognise, without further International 
Committee consultation, the reinstatement of the free status of a zone outside a FMD containment 
zone on evaluation of documented evidence provided by that Member that a FMD containment 
zone has been established in accordan ce with the provisions of the Terrestrial Code . 
7. To delegate to the Scientific Commission the authority, without furthe r International Committee 
consultation, to consider the maintenance in the pr eviously allocated BSE risk status of a country 
or a same zone following a report of any change  in the epidemiological situation by the OIE 
Delegate of the Member. 
8. That a Member maintains its recognised disease status provided that the Member has been 
continuously compliant with the relevant provisions of the Terrestrial Code  and that the Delegate 
submit during the month of November of each year , a letter to the Director General of the OIE  G/SPS/GEN/853 
 Page 9 
 
 
  which includes the relevant information as prescribed in the Terrestrial Code  for that disease, for 
confirming the maintenance of the recognized disease status.  
9. That Members having an officially recognized di sease status and who fail to comply with the 
conditions for maintenance of this  status as prescribed in the Terrestrial Code , will be deleted 
from the list of officially recognized countries or  zones presented yearly to the International 
Committee for adoption. 
10. That a Member who has been deleted from the list due  to failure to confirm the maintenance of its 
disease status should apply again for recognition of the lost disease status by re-submitting 
documented evidence to the Director General fo r evaluation by the Scientific Commission. 
11. That OIE Delegates are encouraged to document and clarify aspects of veterinary services and the 
animal health situation in non-contiguous territo ries covered by the same Veterinary Authority 
when submitting applications for official recognition of disease status.  
12. That financial participation of Members to the cost of official recognition procedures would be 
fixed in a specific Resolution. 
13. This Resolution XXII replaces the Resolution XV of the 62nd General Session, the Resolutions 
XII and XVII of the 65th General Session, Resolution XVI of the 67th General Session, Resolution 
XV of the 69th General Session, Resolution XXI of the 71st General Session and Resolutions 
XXIII and XXIV of the 72nd General Session. 
_______________ 
 
 
(Adopted by the International Committee of the OIE on 28 May 2008)G/SPS/GEN/853 
Page 10  
 
  RESOLUTION No. XXIII 
 
Update on the cost to be covered by Membe rs applying for the official recognition or re-
instatement of disease status for bovine spon giform encephalopathy (BSE), foot and mouth 
disease (FMD), rinderpest and contagious bovine  pleuropneumonia (CBPP) in accordance with 
the provisions of the Terrestrial Animal Health Code 
  
CONSIDERING THAT 
 
1. During the 69th
 General Session, the International Committee adopted Resolution XV asking 
Delegates who wish to be evaluated for compliance with the requirements of the 
Terrestrial Animal Health Code , for their BSE status, to submit a formal request to the Director 
General of the OIE for consideration by the Scie ntific Commission. The participation in the OIE 
procedure will be voluntary and any costs, su ch as examination of documentation by and 
convening meetings of designated experts (Ad hoc Groups), and a dditional country missions that 
these experts might have summoned, are defrayed by participating countries.  
2. During the 70th General Session, the International Committee adopted Resolution XVIII which 
informs all Delegates wishing to have their count ries evaluated for official BSE, FMD, rinderpest 
and CBPP status of the procedures to be followe d and the costs involved. The expenses, including 
travel of experts to meetings, per diem allowan ces, additional labour of the personnel of the OIE 
Central Bureau, and other miscellaneous costs amou nt to nine thousand Euros per application for 
BSE and seven thousand Euros per application fo r FMD, Rinderpest and CBPP, respectively. The 
cost of possible additional country missions is not included in these amounts. 
3. Resolution XVIII of the 70th General Session stated that Members applying for evaluation will 
submit with their application the amount of nine  thousand Euros for BSE and of seven thousand 
Euros each for FMD and CBPP. Least developed countries need to submit only half the amounts 
mentioned. This payment will cover the complete cost of one application for evaluation, except 
the extra cost of possible country missions. The money submitted will not be refunded, even in 
the case of an application not being approved. The participation of the costs for Rinderpest 
evaluation will be obtained from other sources than direct payment by Members. 
4. Resolution XVIII of the 70th General Session highlights further that the full amount for evaluation 
of BSE, FMD and CBPP status will be required only when a Member applies for recognition for 
the first time. For subsequent applications only half of the initial sum will be charged. 
5. Since January 2002, Ad hoc Groups have been c onvened on a regular basis to evaluate requests 
from Members for designation by the OIE as free from FMD, Rinderpest, CBPP or by their BSE risk status and additional clarification has been  requested by Delegates on the amount applicable 
to address all eventualities concerning a pplications within this procedure.  G/SPS/GEN/853 
 Page 11 
 
 
  THE COMMITTEE 
 RESOLVES THAT  
1. For new applications, the full amount for each evaluation of BSE, FMD or CBPP status will be 
required only when a Member not already having an officially recognized disease status for the particular disease or diseases under consideration, applies for recognition of status for that disease 
for the first time, for either the entire country or  for one or several zones within the country.  
2. The full amount is nine thousand Euros for B SE and seven thousand Euros for each application 
for FMD and CBPP, irrespective if the applicati on for evaluation is for a Member’s complete 
national territory or only for one or several zon es within the Member’s territory. The cost of 
possible additional country missions is not included in these amounts. 
3. For subsequent additional applications possibly submitted for the same di sease (e.g. recognition 
of an additional zone or change  in category of a Member’s disease status or for confirmation of 
maintenance of the recognized disease status, ex cept in the event of an OIE mission to the 
Member country or territory, the merging of zon es or recovery of status along with enlargement 
of the zone under consideration) , only half of the initial amount will be charged for each debated 
disease.  
4. For recovery of status of a country or a zone already recognized, i.e. Members seeking evaluation 
for reinstatement of a formerly recognized disea se status, Members will not be charged provided 
that the application is for the reinstatement of the same disease status with in the same country, the 
same zone(s) as described by the Delegate for the initial recognition of disease status. 
5. For all applications of least developed countries only half the amounts mentioned above need to 
be submitted. In considering this the eligibility of Members for reduced cost is based on the 
current official UN list of least developed countries at the time of the OIE’s call for capitals. 
6. The amount transferred with any application will no t be refunded, even in the case of applications 
not being compliant on a technical basis or not being approved by either the Scientific Commission or the International Committee. 
7. This Resolution XXIII replaces Resolutions XV and XVIII adopted at the 69
th and 70th General 
Session, respectively. 
_______________ 
 
 (Adopted by the International Committee of the OIE on 28 May 2008) G/SPS/GEN/853 
Page 12  
 
  Annex 3
 
RESOLUTION No. XXI 
 
Recognition of the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Status of Members 
 
 
CONSIDERING THAT 
 1. Adoption of subsequent Resolutions
2 since the 67th General Session of the OIE International 
Committee has established a proce dure for annually updating a list of Members, categorised by 
their BSE risk according to the provisions of the Terrestrial Code ,  
2. During the 70th General Session, the Interna tional Committee adopted Resolution No. XVIII 
asking Members applying for a BSE risk evaluation to  meet part of the costs sustained by the OIE 
Central Bureau in the evaluation process, 
3. During the 72nd General Session, the OIE adopted Resolution No. XXI requesting the Director 
General to inform Delegates of Members whose c ountry or zones are recognised with regard to 
their BSE risk status should annually confirm dur ing the month of November whether their risk 
status and the criteria by which their stat us was recognised have remained unchanged, 
4. Information published by the OIE is derived from d eclarations made by the official Veterinary 
Services of Members. The OIE is not responsible for inaccurate publication of a Member disease 
status based on inaccurate information, changes in epidemiological status or other significant 
events that were not promptly reported to th e Central Bureau, subsequent to the time of 
declaration of the BSE risk status. 
 
                                                      
 2  67th General Session (GS) Resolution No (Res) XV I and Res XI; 69th GS Res XV, and 71st GS Res 
XXII, 72nd GS Res XXIV and Res XXI. THE COMMITTEE 
 
RESOLVES THAT  1. The Director General publish the following list of Members recognised as having a negligible 
BSE risk in accordance with Chapter 2.3.13. of the Terrestrial Code : 
Argentina New Zealand Singapore 
Australia Norway Sweden 
Finland Paraguay Uruguay Iceland   
  G/SPS/GEN/853 
 Page 13 
 
 
  2. The Director General publish the following list of Members recognised as having a controlled 
BSE risk in accordance with Chapter 2.3.13. of the Terrestrial Code : 
 
Austria Germany Mexico 
Belgium Greece Netherlands 
Brazil Hungary Poland 
Canada Ireland Portugal 
Chile Italy Slovak Republic 
Chinese Taipei  Latvia Slovenia 
Cyprus Lichtenstein Spain 
Czech Republic Lithuania Switzerland 
Denmark Luxembourg United Kingdom 
Estonia Malta United States of America 
France   
 
AND  
3. The Delegates of these Members will immediately notify the Central Bureau if BSE occurs in 
their countries or their territories. 
_______________ 
 
 (Adopted by the International Committee of the OIE on 27 May 2008) 
 G/SPS/GEN/853 
Page 14  
 
  Annex 4
 
RESOLUTION No. XVIII 
 
Recognition of the Foot and Mouth Disease Status of Members 
 
 CONSIDERING THAT  1. Adoption of subsequent Resolutions
3 since the 62nd General Session of the OIE International 
Committee has established a procedure for annua lly updating a list of Member countries and 
zones, recognised as free from foot and mouth di sease (FMD) according to the provisions of the 
Terrestrial Code , 
2. The Scientific Commission for Animal Diseases (t he Scientific Commission) has continued to 
apply the procedure approved by the Internati onal Committee, and has supported the recognition 
of the FMD free status of additional countries and zones for annual adoption of the list by the 
International Committee, 
3. During the 65th General Session, the Interna tional Committee adopted Resolution XII, which 
stated that the Delegates of Members where en tire countries or zones ar e recognised as FMD free, 
annually confirm by letter during the month of Nove mber that their FMD status and the criteria by 
which that status was recognised have remained unchanged, 
4. Recommendations of the Scientific Commission regard ing the evaluation of countries or zones as 
being free from FMD have been submitted to Me mbers for comments as outlined in Resolution 
XVI, which was adopted during the 67th Gene ral Session of the International Committee, 
5. During the 70th General Session, the Interna tional Committee adopted Resolution No. XVIII 
asking Members applying for this evaluation to meet part of the costs sustained by the OIE 
Central Bureau in the evaluation process, 
6. Information published by the OIE is derived from d eclarations made by the official Veterinary 
Services of Members. The OIE is not responsible  for inaccurate publication of country or zonal 
disease free status based on inaccurate information, changes in epidemiological status or other 
significant events that were not promptly reported to the Central Bureau subsequent to the time of 
declaration of freedom from FMD. 
                                                      
3 62nd General Session (GS) Resolution No (Res) IX; 63rd GS Res XI and Res XII; 64th GS Res XII, 
65th GS Res XVII and 71st GS Res XXI.  G/SPS/GEN/853 
 Page 15 
 
 
  THE COMMITTEE 
 RESOLVES THAT  1. The Director General publish the following lis t of Members recognised as FMD free where 
vaccination is not practised, according to th e provisions of Chapter 2.2.10. of the Terrestrial 
Code : 
Albania 
Australia 
Austria 
Belarus Belgium 
Belize 
Bosnia and Herzegovina Brunei 
Bulgaria 
Canada 
Chile 
Costa Rica Croatia 
Cuba 
Cyprus Czech Rep. 
Denmark 
Dominican Republic El Salvador 
Estonia 
Finland Former Yug. Rep. of 
Macedonia 
 France 
Germany 
Greece 
Guatemala Guyana 
Haiti 
Honduras Hungary 
Iceland 
Indonesia 
Ireland 
Italy Japan 
Korea (Rep. of) 
Latvia Lithuania 
Luxembourg 
Madagascar Malta 
Mauritius 
Mexico  Montenegro 
Netherlands 
New Caledonia  
New Zealand Nicaragua 
Norway 
Panama Poland 
Portugal 
Romania 
Serbia
4 
Singapore Slovakia 
Slovenia 
Spain Sweden 
Switzerland 
Ukraine United Kingdom 
United States of America 
Vanuatu 
 
2. The Director General publish the following lis t of Members recognised as FMD free where 
vaccination is practised, according to th e provisions of Chapter 2.2.10. of the Terrestrial Code : 
 Chinese Taipei and Uruguay. 3. The Director General publish the following list of Members having a FMD free zone where 
vaccination is not practised, according to th e provisions of Chapter 2.2.10. of the Terrestrial 
Code
5: 
Argentina : the zone designated by the Delegate of Argentina in a document addressed to the 
Director General in January 2007; 
Botswana : the zones as designated by the Delegate of Botswana in a document addressed to the 
Director General in December 2006; 
Brazil :  State of Santa Catarina; 
Colombia : zones designated by the Delegate of Co lombia in documents addressed to the 
Director General in November 1995 and in  April 1996 (Area I - Northwest region of 
                                                      
4 Including Kosovo administered by the United Nations. 
5 For detailed information on the delimitation of z ones of Members recognised as FMD free, it is 
required to address enquiries to the Director General of the OIE. G/SPS/GEN/853 
Page 16  
 
  Choco Department) and in January 2008 (Archipelago de San Andres and 
Providencia); 
Malaysia
: zones of Sabah and Sarawak designated by the Delegate of Malaysia in a document 
addressed to the Director General in December 2003; 
Namibia :  zone designated by the Delegate of Namibia in a document addressed to the Director 
General in February 1997; 
Peru:  zones as designated by the Delegate of Peru in two documents addressed to the 
Director General in December 2004 and in January 2007; 
Philippines : Islands of Mindanao, Visayas, Palawan and Masbate; 
South Africa : zone designated by the Delegate of South Africa in a document addressed to the 
Director General in May 2005. 
4. The Director General publish the following list of Members having FMD free zones where 
vaccination is practised, according to th e provisions of Chapter 2.2.10. of the Terrestrial Code : 
Argentina : zone of Argentina designated by the Delega te of Argentina in documents addressed to 
the Director General in March 2007; 
Bolivia :  zone of Chiquitania designated by the De legate of Bolivia in documents addressed to 
the Director General in January 2003 and a zone situated in the western part of the Department of Oruro in documents addressed to the Director General in September 2005; 
Brazil
:  States of Acre along with two adjacent municipalities of Amazon state, Rio Grande 
do Sul, Rondonia and the middle southern part of the State Parà, as designated by the 
Delegate of Brazil in a document addressed to the Director General in March 2004 
and February 2007. The States of Bahia,  Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de 
Janeiro, Sergipe, Tocantins, Distrito Federa l, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Paraná, São Paulo 
of Brazil as designated by the Delegate of Brazil in a document addressed to the Director General in May 2008; 
Colombia
: zone designated by the Delegate of Colomb ia in documents addressed to the Director 
General in January 2003, two zones desi gnated by the Delegate in documents 
addressed to the Director General in December 2004 and a south western zone designated by the Delegate of Colombia in documents addressed to the Director 
General in January 2007; 
Paraguay
: zone designated by the Delegate of Paragua y in documents addressed to the Director 
General in March 2007. 
AND 
 5. The Delegates of these Members will immediately notify the Central Bureau if FMD occurs in 
their countries or zones within their territories. 
_______________ 
 
 (Adopted by the International Committee of the OIE on 27 May 2008) G/SPS/GEN/853 
 Page 17 
 
 
  Annex 5  
RESOLUTION No. XIX 
 
Recognition of the Rinderpest Status of Members 
 
 CONSIDERING THAT  1. Adoption of subsequent Resolutions
6 since the 63rd General Session of the OIE International 
Committee has established a procedure for annua lly updating a list of Member countries and 
zones, recognised as free from rinderpest  according to the provisions of the Terrestrial Code , 
2. During the 69th General Session, the Internati onal Committee adopted Resolution No. XVI which 
stated that Delegates of Members where entire countries or zones are recognised as rinderpest free, annually reconfirm by letter during the month of November that their rinderpest status and 
the criteria by which the status was recognized have remained unchanged, 
3. During the 70th General Session, the Interna tional Committee adopted Resolution No. XVIII 
asking fees to be paid by Members applying for evaluation for freedom from rinderpest and that these fees would be recovered whenever possible from sources other than the applicant countries, 
4. Information published by the OIE is derived from d eclarations made by the official Veterinary 
Services of Members. The OIE is not responsible  for inaccurate publication of country or zonal 
disease free status based on inaccurate information, changes in epidemiological status or other 
significant events that were not promptly reported to the Central Bureau subsequent to the time of 
declaration of freedom from disease or infection. 
5. During the 75
th General Session the International Comm ittee adopted the proposed update in the 
"OIE rinderpest pathway" of the Terrestrial Code . In view of the progress in global rinderpest 
eradication, the provisions of Chapter 2.2.12. of the Terrestrial Code  2007 were restricted the sole 
recognition of rinderpest free status representing a country-wide infection free status.  Therefore new applications of Members for zones free from rinderpest or rinderpest disease free status are no longer applicable.  
 
                                                     
 
6 63rd General Session (GS) Resolution No (Res) XIV; 67th GS Res XVI, 68th GS Res XIII, and 70th 
GS Res XVI. G/SPS/GEN/853 
Page 18  
 
  THE COMMITTEE 
 RESOLVES THAT  1. The Director General publish the following list of Members recognised as free from rinderpest, 
according to the provisions of Chapter 2.2.12. of the Terrestrial Code : 
 
Afghanistan 
Albania 
Algeria 
Andorra 
Angola 
Argentina 
Australia 
Austria 
Barbados 
Belarus 
Belgium 
Benin 
Bhutan 
Bolivia 
Bosnia and Herzegovina 
Botswana 
Brazil 
Bulgaria 
Burkina Faso 
Burundi 
Canada 
Chile 
China  
Chinese Taipei 
Colombia 
Congo 
Congo (Dem. Rep. of 
the) 
Côte d'Ivoire 
Costa Rica 
Croatia 
Cuba 
Cyprus Czech Rep. 
Denmark 
Ecuador  
Egypt 
El Salvador 
Equatorial Guinea 
Eritrea 
Estonia 
Ethiopia 
Finland 
Former Yug. Rep. of    
   Macedonia 
France 
Gabon 
Germany  
Ghana 
Greece 
Guatemala 
Guinea 
Guinea Bissau 
Guyana 
Haiti 
Honduras 
Hungary 
Iceland 
India 
Indonesia 
Iran 
Ireland 
Italy 
Jamaica 
Japan 
Jordan Korea (Rep. of) 
Latvia 
Lebanon 
Lesotho 
Lithuania 
Luxembourg 
Madagascar 
Malawi 
Malaysia 
Mali 
Malta 
Mauritania 
Mauritius 
Mexico 
Moldavia 
Mongolia 
Morocco 
Mozambique 
Myanmar 
Namibia 
Nepal  
Netherlands 
New Caledonia 
New Zealand 
Norway  
Pakistan 
Panama 
Paraguay 
Peru 
Philippines 
Poland 
Portugal Romania 
Rwanda 
Senegal 
Serbia7 
Singapore 
Slovakia 
Slovenia 
South Africa 
Spain 
Sudan 
Swaziland 
Sweden 
Switzerland 
Tajikistan 
Tanzania 
Thailand 
Togo 
Trinidad and Tobago 
Tunisia 
Turkey 
Uganda 
Ukraine 
United Kingdom 
United States of America 
Uruguay 
 Uzbekistan 
Vanuatu 
Venezuela 
Vietnam 
Zambia 
Zimbabwe 
 
2. The Director General publish until May 2009 th e following list of Members being free from 
rinderpest disease according to the provisions of Chapter 2.2.12. of the Terrestrial Code  2006: 
 Cameroon, Chad, and Niger. 
 3. The Director General publish until May 2009 the fo llowing Member having a zone designated by 
the Delegate as free from rinderpest disease according to the provisions of Chapter 2.2.12. of the 
Terrestrial Code  2006 
8: 
                                                      
7 Excluding Kosovo administer ed by the United Nations. 
8 For detailed information on the delimitation of Kenya’s zone recognised as free from rinderpest 
disease, it is required to address enquirie s to the Director General of the OIE.  G/SPS/GEN/853 
 Page 19 
 
 
   Kenya: zone designated by the Delegate of Kenya in a document addressed to the Director 
General in August 2005. 
AND  4. The Delegates of these Members will immediately no tify the Central Bureau if rinderpest occurs 
in their countries or zones within their territories. 
______________ 
 
  (Adopted by the International Committee of the OIE on 27 May 2008) G/SPS/GEN/853 
Page 20  
 
  Annex 6
 
RESOLUTION No. XXXI 
 
Participation of Small Farmers in Animal Health Programmes 
 
 CONSIDERING THAT  1. There is a diversity of farming systems and pe rceptions regarding the characteristics of small 
livestock owners.  
2. Small farmers are numerically the largest stakeholder group active in livestock production 
worldwide. 
3. In developing countries, the majority of those in poverty continue to depend on small-scale 
farming as a key livelihood activity. 
4. Many small farmers keep livestock, and livestock keepers include some of the most marginalised 
and vulnerable groups in particular women farmers and certain pastoral societies. 
5. Members reported that small farmers are a significant source of animal health information and are 
important partners in disease control. 
6. Success of national programmes for disease surveillance and mitigation depends in part on small 
farmer involvement and Members reported that small farms, due to their diversity, offer 
challenges to bio-security and surveillance programmes. 
7. Small farms differ both quantitatively and qualitatively from large farms in animal health needs, 
capacity to participate and ability to influence national policy. 
8. It is recognised that trained representatives of small farmers, such as community animal health 
workers, have an important role in the delivery of services in national animal health programmes, 
under the supervision of veterinarians. 
9. Members reported that the role of small farmers should increase in animal health and that this 
could be achieved through capacity building, ne w programmes, revised policies and increased 
organisation 
10. Small farmers are integrated into national marke ting systems and both affect and are affected by 
international trade decisions  
 
THE COMMITTEE  RECOMMENDS THAT  
1. OIE Members actively encourage small farmer organisation and representation in national and 
international animal health decision-making and policy setting processes in or der to contribute to 
more effective Veterinary Services and animal health programmes. 
2. OIE Members undertake to ensure that small farm er organizations are given the opportunity to 
contribute their comments and submissions on proposed or revised OIE standards.  G/SPS/GEN/853 
 Page 21 
 
 
  3. The principle of equivalence be applied whenev er possible in developing and evaluating animal 
health programmes to enhance the involvement, market access and level of services provided to 
small farmers. 
4. Passive and active disease surveillance should be  applied using conventi onal and participatory 
approaches to enhance small farmer inclusion a nd the sensitivity and representativeness of animal 
health information systems. 
5. The OIE review international standards, defin itions and guidelines to identify opportunities to 
encourage small farmer participation, under the supervision of Veterina ry Services and enhance 
equity and efficiency in animal health programmes and trade. 
6. The PVS evaluation of countries should provide the basis for promoting further investment and 
capacity building to permit an increased role of the small farmers in animal health programme. 
7. The OIE and its Members be encouraged to fully consider the critical engagement of small 
farmers in the development of OIE activities and its annual work plan. 
8. The OIE Members encourage the training of techni cians, community animal health workers and 
livestock owners, and their organizations involved in  animal health promotion in order to engage 
in animal health surveillance and disease control. 
9. The OIE and its Members support and increase animal health data collection concerning all 
stakeholders in order to disaggregate data by farm size for better stra tegic planning and policy 
formulation.  
_______________ 
  
(Adopted by the International Committee of the OIE on 29 May 2008) G/SPS/GEN/853 
Page 22  
 
  Annex 7
 
RESOLUTION No. XXXII 
 
Implications of private standards in international trade of animals and animal products 
 
 CONSIDERING  That the World Trade Organization, under the Ag reement on the Application of Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures, formally recognises the OI E as the reference organisation responsible for 
establishing international standards relating to animal diseases, including zoonotic diseases  
 That the OIEs current 172 Members and the interna tional community at large recognise the OIE as the 
organisation responsible for setting standards for an imal disease surveillance and animal health and 
welfare, with the objective of providing a scientific  basis for safe internati onal trade in animals and 
animal products and improving animal health and welfare worldwide, 
 That the OIE International Committee has adopted in ternational standards for animal welfare during 
transport, slaughter and killing for sanitary purposes,  and the OIE is developing new standards in the 
animal welfare domain, and 
 
NOTING   That commercial standards, established by priv ate companies without direct involvement of 
governments, are increasingly coming into play in international trade, and are of great concern for a 
majority of OIE Members 
 THE COMMITTEE  DECIDES  
1. To reaffirm the standards published by the OIE in the field of animal health including zoonoses, 
as the global official sanitary guarantees for prev enting the risks associated with international 
trade in animals and animal products, while avoi ding unjustified sanitary barriers to trade, and 
promoting the prevention and control of animal diseases worldwide. 
2. To reaffirm the standards published by the OIE in the field of animal welfare as the global 
reference standard for OIE Members. 
3. To ask the Director General to work with releva nt public and private international organizations 
with the objective that concerns of Members ar e taken into consideration and that private 
standards, where used, are consistent with and do not conflict with those of the OIE. 
4. To ask the Director General to support Members in  taking whatever steps are available to them to 
ensure that private animal health and animal we lfare standards, where used, are consistent with 
and do not conflict with those of the OIE.  G/SPS/GEN/853 
 Page 23 
 
 
  5. To ask the Director General to continue with th e relevant activities to further strengthen the OIE’s 
work in standard setting for animal health, incl uding zoonotic diseases, and animal welfare and to 
continue to implement and reinforce capacity  building programmes to assist Members in 
implementing OIE standards. Capacity building in cludes communication for Veterinary Services 
in order to convince consumers on the efficiency of OIE standards to protect health and animal 
welfare. 
_______________ 
 
 
(Adopted by the International Committee of the OIE on 29 May 2008) G/SPS/GEN/853 
Page 24  
 
  Annex 8
 
RESOLUTION No. XXVIII 
 
Food security and animal health 
 
 
CONSIDERING 
 1. The problems that many countries are experiencing with their food supply, in terms of quantity, 
quality and affordability, 
2. The nutritional requirements of populations in te rms of protein and essential amino acids derived 
from animal products, 
3. The growth in world demand for animal products, 
4. The increasing demand for food crops for human and animal food, and for energy, 
5. The health threats linked to global warming and to the globalisation of trade and movements of 
people, 
6. The current huge impact of animal diseases on the world animal production, particularly in 
developing and in transition countries. 
7. The mandate of the OIE to improve world animal health and welfare, 
THE COMMITTEE 
 
EMPHASISES  1. The strong link that exists between the quan titative and qualitative security of food production 
and the control of animal diseases, 
 
RECOMMENDS THAT THE OIE  1. Support its Members in the fight against terrest rial and aquatic animal diseases by supporting 
improvement of sanitary governance and strengt hening the capacities of national Veterinary 
Services based on the quality standards contained in the Terrestrial Animal Health Code. 
2. Further develop the use of the PVS tool for th e evaluation of national Veterinary Services, with 
the aim of helping to improve their capacities a nd urgently seeking the a ppropriate national and 
international resources for their compliance with  the OIE standards in the field of quality. 
3. Encourage countries and donor organizations, based on the results of the PVS evaluations 
accepted by Members, to increase their investment in the field of animal health, so as to help to 
contribute to food security throughout the world by  improving the health status of food-producing 
animals. 
4. Commission and communicate research and surv eys on the current and likely future impact of 
animal diseases in the world animal production, as well as animal health policies that minimise 
the loss of animal proteins. 
_______________ 
 
(Adopted by the International Committee of the OIE on 30 May 2008)   
__________