Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2014:2333
Date: 2014-11-05
Language of the case: Greek
Court formation: First Chamber
Subject matter: Agriculture and Fisheries;Public health;Veterinary legislation
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Cyprus

Summary — Judgment of the Court (First Chamber), 5 November 2014 Agriculture — Approximation of laws on animal health — Organisation of controls of products of animal origin intended for human consumption — Requirement for controls of slaughter by an official veterinarian — Determination by the competent authority of the time of slaughter — Lawfulness — Exception — Slaughter objectively necessary at a time set by the slaughterhouse — Determination by the national court (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 854/2004) The provisions of Regulation No 854/2004 laying down specific rules for the organisation of official controls on products of animal origin intended for human consumption, as amended by Regulation No 1791/2006, must be interpreted, in principle, as not precluding the competent authority from determining the time at which the slaughter of animals takes place, with a view to the appointment of an official veterinarian for the purposes of supervising the slaughter, and refusing to provide such a veterinarian on the day and at the time determined by the slaughterer, unless it is objectively necessary for the slaughter to take place on a specific day, which it is for the referring court to ascertain. (see para. 29, operative part)