1977L0504 — EN — 08.03.1979 — 001.001 — 1
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►B COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of25July1977
onpure-bredbreedinganimalsofthebovinespecies
(77/504/EEC)
(OJ L 206, 12.8.1977, p. 8)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Council Directive 79/268/EEC of 5 March 1979 L 62 5 13.3.1979
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COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of25July1977
onpure-bredbreedinganimalsofthebovinespecies
(77/504/EEC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic
Community, and in particular Articles43 and 100 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament(1),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee(2),
Whereascattle production occupiesa very important place in Commu-
nity agriculture, and satisfactory results depend to a large extent on the
use of purebred breeding animals;
Whereasmos t Member Stateshave hitherto endeavoured, aspart of
their national breeding policies, to promote the production of livestockof a limited number of breeds meeting specific zootechnic standards;whereasthe breedsand s tandardsvary from one Member State to
another; whereas these disparities hinder intra-Community trade;
Whereas, if these disparities are to be removed, thereby increasing agri-
cultural productivity in thiss ector, intra-Community trade in all pure-bred breeding animals must be progressively liberalized; whereascomplete liberalization of trade requiresa later additional harmoniza-
tion particularly regarding approval for breeding;
Whereas it must be possible for the Member States to insist on pedi-
gree certificatesdrawn up in accordance with a Community procedurebeing presented;
Whereas implementing measures in certain technical areas should be
taken; whereas, for the adoption of such measures, a procedure should
be provided for establishing close cooperation between Member Statesand the Commission within the Standing Committee on Zootechnics;whereas, until the adoption of those implementing measures, the provi-sions which are at present in force in the areas in question must remainunchanged;
Whereas it must be ensured that importation of pure-bred breeding
animalsof the bovine s peciesfrom non-member countriescannot becarried out on conditions which are less severe than those appliedwithin the Community,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
For the purposes of this Directive the following definitions shall apply:
(a) pure-bred breeding animal of the bovine species: any bovine
animal the parentsand grandparentsof which are entered or regis -tered in a herd-book of the same breed, and which is itself eitherentered or registered and eligible for entry in such a herd-book;
(b) herd-book: any book, register, file or data medium
— which is maintained by a breeders' organization or association
officially recognized by a Member State in which the breeders'organization or association was constituted, and1977L0504 — EN — 08.03.1979 — 001.001 — 2
(1) OJ No C 76, 3. 7. 1974, p. 52.
(2) OJ No C 116, 30. 9. 1974, p. 33.
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— in which pure-bred breeding animalsof a given breed of the
bovine species are entered or registered with mention of theirancestors.
Article 2
The Member States shall ensure that the following shall not be prohib-
ited, restricted or impeded on zootechnical grounds:
— intra-Community trade in pure-bred breeding animalsof the bovine
species,
— intra-Community trade in the semen and embryos of pure-bred
breeding animals of the bovine species,
— the establishment of herd-books, provided that they comply with the
requirementslaid down purs uant to Article 6,
— the recognition of organizations or associations which maintain
herd-books, in accordance with Article 6, and
— subject to Article 3, intra-Community trade in bulls used for artifi-
cial insemination.
Article 3
The Council, acting on a proposal from the Commission, shall, before
1 July 1980, adopt Community provisions for the approval of pure-bredbreeding animalsof the bovine s peciesfor breeding.
Until the entry into force of such provisions, approval of pure-bred
breeding animalsof the bovine s peciesfor breeding and approval of
bulls to be used for artificial insemination as well as the use of semenand embryos shall remain subject to national law, on the understandingthat that law may not be more restrictive than that applicable to pure-bred breeding animals of the bovine species, semen and embryos in the
Member State of destination.
Article 4
Breeders' organizations or associations officially recognized by a
Member State may not oppose the entry in their herd-books of pure-bred breeding animalsof the bovine s peciesfrom other Member Statesprovided that they satisfy the requirements laid down in accordance
with Article 6.
Article 5
Member Statesmay require that pure-bred breeding animalsof the
bovine species and the semen or embryos from such animals shall beaccompanied, in intra-Community trade, by a pedigree certificatewhich complieswith a s pecimen drawn up in accordance with the
procedure laid down in Article 8, particularly with regard to zootech-
nical performance.
Article 6
1. The following shall be determined in accordance with the proce-
dure laid down in Article 8:
— performance monitoring methods and methods for assessing cattle's
genetic value,
— the criteria governing the recognition of breeders' organizations and
associations,
— the criteria governing the establishment of herd-books,— the criteria governing entry in herd-books,— the particularsto be s hown on the pedigree certificate.
2. Until the entry into force of the provisions provided for in the
first, second and third indents of paragraph 1:
(a) the official checksreferred to in the firs t indent of paragraph 1
carried out in each Member State and the herd-booksin exis tenceat present shall be recognized by the other Member States;1977L0504 — EN — 08.03.1979 — 001.001 — 3
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(b) the recognition of breeders' organizations and associations shall
continue to be governed by the rulesat pres ent in force in eachMember State;
(c) the introduction of new herd-bookss hall continue to meet the
conditionsat pres ent in force in each Member State.
Article 7
Until the implementation of Community ruleson the s ubject, the condi-
tionsapplicable to importsof pure-bred breeding animalsof the bovinespecies from non-member countries must not be more favourable thanthose governing intra-Community trade.
Member Statess hall not authorize the import of pure-bred breeding
animals of the bovine species from non-member countries unless theyare accompanied by a pedigree certificate certifying that they areentered or registered in a herd-book in the exporting non-membercountry. Proof must be provided that the animals are either entered orregistered and eligible for entry in a herd-book in the Community.
Article 8
1. Where the procedure laid down in thisArticle isto be us ed,
matterss hall without delay be referred by the Chairman, either on hisown initiative or at the request of a Member State, to the StandingCommittee on Zootechnics(hereinafter referred to as‘the Committee’)
set up by the Council Decision 77/505/EEC.
2. Within the Committee the votesof Member Statess hall be
weighted asprovided in Article 148 (2) of the Treaty. The Chairmanshall not vote.
3. The representative of the Commission shall submit a draft of the
measures to be adopted. The Committee shall deliver its opinion on
such measures within a time limit set by the Chairman according tothe urgency of the mattersconcerned. Opinionss hall be delivered bya majority of 41 votes.
4. The Commission shall adopt the measures and shall apply them
immediately where they are in accordance with the opinion of the
Committee. Where they are not in accordance with the opinion of theCommittee or if no opinion is delivered, the Commission shall withoutdelay propose to the Council the measures to be adopted. The Councilshall adopt the measures by a qualified majority.
If, within three monthsfrom the date on which the propos al was
submitted to it, the Council has not adopted any measures, theCommission shall adopt the proposed measures and apply them imme-diately save where the Council has decided by a simple majorityagainst those measures.
Article 9
The Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and
administrative provisions necessary to:
(a) comply with thisDirective, with the exception of Article 7, by 1
January 1979 at the latest;
(b) comply with Article 7, asregardseach of the pointswhich it
covers, on the same dates as those on which they comply with thecorresponding provisions applicable in intra-Community trade, andin particular the decisions that are successively adopted pursuant toArticle 6.
They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.
Article 10
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.1977L0504 — EN — 08.03.1979 — 001.001 — 4
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