1996D0482 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 005.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COMMISSIONDECISION
of12July1996
laying down animal health conditions and veterinary certificates for the importation of poultry
andhatchingeggsotherthanratitesandeggsthereoffromthirdcountriesincludinganimalhealth
measurestobeappliedaftersuchimportation
(TextwithEEArelevance)
(96/482/EC)
(OJ L 196, 7.8.1996, p. 13)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1CommissionDecision2000/505/EC of 25 July 2000 L 201 8 9.8.2000
►M2CommissionDecision2002/183/EC of 28 February 2002 L 61 56 2.3.2002
►M3CommissionDecision2002/542/EC of 4 July 2002 L 176 43 5.7.2002
►M4CommissionDecision2004/118/EC of 28 Jan uary 2004 L 36 34 7.2.2004
Amended by:
►A1Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Czech Republic, the
Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia,the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic ofMalta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the SlovakRepublic and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the EuropeanUnion is foundedL 236 33 23.9.2003
▼B
COMMISSIONDECISION
of12July1996
laying down animal health conditions and veterinary certificates
fortheimportationofpoultryandhatchingeggsotherthanratitesand eggs thereof from third countries including animal health
measurestobeappliedafter suchimportation
(TextwithEEArelevance)
(96/482/EC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Directive 90/539/EEC of 15 October 1990 on
animal health conditions governing intra-Community trade in, andimports from, third countries, of poultry and hatching eggs(
1), as last
amended by the Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden,
and in particular Articles 23 (1), 24 and 26 (2) thereof,
Having regard to Council Directive 91/496/EEC of 15 July 1991 laying
down the principles governing the organization of veterinary checks on
animals entering the Community and amending Directives 89/662/EEC,90/425/EEC and 90/675/EEC (
2), as last amended by the Act of Acces-
sion of Austria, Finland and Sweden, and in particular Article 10thereof,
Whereas CommissionDecision95/233/EC (
3) established a list of third
countries from which importation of live poultry and hatching eggs isauthorized inprin ciple;
Whereas the countries or parts thereof appearing on this list have given
sufficient guarantees to be considered as free from avian influenza andNewcastle disease according to Commission Decision 93/342/EEC (
4)
as amended by Decision 94/438/EC (5);
Whereas the general and special animal health conditions and the
veterinary certificates required for the importation of poultry or
hatching eggs have to be laid down; whereas also the sampling and
testing procedures have to be laid down; whereas all these requirementshave to be at least equivalent to those laid down by Directive 90/539/EEC and any implementing Decision for intra-Community trade;
Whereas a list of third countries entitled to use the certificates laid
downinthis Decisionis established by CommissionDecision96/483/EC (
6);
Whereas furthermore the conditions, and therefore the certificates, can
be different for small consignments of poultry; whereas the conditionsand the certificates for such small consignments should be establishedina separate Decision ;
Whereas therefore the general health situation of the third countries
must be taken into account; whereas certain third countries appearingon the abovementioned list are only to be authorized for imports ofcertain categories of poultry and hatching eggs;
Whereas it is necessary, in respect of imports of ratites and hatching
eggs thereof, and because of the biological differences between thosebirds and the other poultry species, to postpone the establishment of
animal health conditions and veterinary certification until the Scientific
Veterinary Committee has given an opinion as to the risks involved insuch imports;1996D0482 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 005.001 — 2
(1) OJ No L 303, 31. 10. 1990, p. 6.
(2) OJ No L 268, 24. 9. 1991, p. 56.
(3) OJ No L 156, 7. 7. 1995, p. 76.
(4) OJ No L 137, 8. 6. 1993, p. 24.
(5) OJ No L 181, 15. 7. 1994, p. 35.
(6) See page 28 of this Official Journal.
▼B
Whereas, with regard to the category of products concerned and to the
need to avoid any deterioration of the health status on the territory ofthe Community, it is necessary to establish an isolation and observation
period followed by clinical examination;
Whereas the Commissionmay review this Decisionat an y time if the
animal health status of the countries concerned is changed;
Whereas the measures provided for inthis Decisionare inaccordan ce
with the opinion of the Standing Veterinary Committee,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
1. The provisions of this Decision shall apply to imports of poultry
and hatching eggs as defined in points 1 and 2 of Article 2 of Directive90/539/EEC with the exception of ratites and hatching eggs thereof.
2. The provisions of this Decision shall not apply to imports of
single consignments of fewer than 20 units of poultry or hatching eggs.
3. For the purpose of this Decision the definitions contained in
Article 1 of Decision93/342/EEC shall apply as n ecessary.
Article 2
1. Member States shall authorise imports of:
(a) breeding and productive poultry, coming from third countries or
parts thereof listed in column A of part I of Annex I to this Deci-
sion and conforming to the requirements laid down in the modelanimal health certificate set out as Model A in part II of Annex Ito this Decision;
(b) hatching eggs, coming from third countries or parts thereof listed in
column B of part I of Annex I to this Decision and conforming tothe requirements laid down in the model animal health certificateset out as Model B in part II of Annex I to this Decision;
(c) day-old chicks, coming from third countries or parts thereof listed
in column C of part I of Annex I to this Decision and conforming
to the requirements laid down in the model animal health certifi-
cate set out as Model C in part II of Annex I to this Decision;
(d) slaughter poultry, and poultry for restocking game supplies, coming
from third countries or parts thereof listed in column D of part I of
Annex I to this Decision and conforming to the requirements laiddowninthe model an imal health certificate set out as Model D inpart II of Annex I to this Decision,
provided that they are accompanied by the relevant certificate, duly
completed and signed.
2. Breeding and productive poultry, hatching eggs and day-old
chicks must come from establishments which have been approved bythe competent authority of the third country concerned according torequirements which are at least equivalent to those laid down in AnnexII to Directive 90/539/EEC, where the approval of those establishmentshas not been suspended or withdrawn.
Article 3
1. After importation, breeding or productive poultry or day-old
chicks shall be kept on the holding(s) of destination either for a periodof at least six weeks from the day of arrival or until the day of
slaughter if they are slaughtered before the six weeks have elapsed.
After their importationas hatchin g eggs, the poultry hatched from
those eggs shall be kept for a period of at least three weeks from theday of hatching in the holding(s) to which they have been sent afterhatching.1996D0482 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 005.001 — 3
▼M2
▼B
▼M1
If the day-old chicks are not reared in the same Member State which
imported the hatching eggs, they shall be directly transported to andkept on the holding of destination referred to in point 9.2 in the animal
health certificated Model 2 of Annex IV of Council Directive 90/539/
EEC for a period of at least three weeks from the day of hatching.
By way of derogationfrom the first subparagraph the period of six
weeks for keeping breeding and productive poultry including poultryintended for restocking supplies of wild game on the holding of desti-
nation can be reduced to 21 days provided testing according to the
sampling and testing procedures described in Annex III has beencarried out with favourable results.
2. During the periods mentioned in paragraph 1 and during the
hatching of the eggs, the imported poultry or eggs and the poultry
hatched from such eggs shall be kept separately from non-imported
ones. Therefore, poultry shall be kept in poultryhouses where no otherflooks are present and the eggs must be hatched in separate incubatorsand hatchers.
By way of derogationfrom the first subparagraph, Member States may
authorize imported poultry or eggs to be added to poultry or eggsrespectively which are already present in the poultryhouse or incu-
bator/hatcher. Inthat even t, the periods specified inparagraph 1 start
running from the introduction of the last imported bird or egg respec-tively.
The poultry must undergo a clinical examination by an authorized
veterinarian and where necessary samples must be taken to monitortheir state of health, at least at the end of the periods specified in para-
graph 1.
The periods mentioned in paragraph 1 shall be extended if suspicion of
avian influenza or Newcastle disease cannot be ruled out.
Article 4
If the poultry, the hatching eggs and day old chicks and/or their flocks
of origin are to be submitted to testing according to the requirements ofthe certificates laid down in Annex I, the sampling for testing and thetesting itself must be executed according to the protocols laid down inAnnex II.
Article 5
This Decisionshall apply from 1 October 1996.
Article 6
This Decisionis addressed to the Member States.1996D0482 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 005.001 — 4
▼M3
▼B
ANNEX I
PART I
Listofthirdcountriesorpartsofthirdcountrieswhichareauthorisedtousethemodelcertificates AtoDlaiddowninAnnexIpartIIaremarkedwithan x
ISO-Code Country Parts of the territoryModel certificates to be used
Breeding/
productive
AHatching
eggs
BDay-old
chicks
CSlaughter/
restocking
D
AU Australia XXXX
BG Bulgaria XXXX
BR Brazil The States of Mato Grosso, Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul,
Santa Catarina and Sáo PauloXXXX
CA Canada XXXX
CH Switzerland XXXX
CL Chile XXXX
EE (*) Estonia (*) XXXX
HR Croatia XXXX
IL Israel XXXX
LT (*) Lithuania (*) XXXX
LV(*) Latvia (*) XXXX
MT(*) Malta (*) XXXX▼M41996D0482 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 005.001 — 5
▼A1
▼M4
▼A1
▼M4
ISO-Code Country Parts of the territoryModel certificates to be used
Breeding/
productive
AHatching
eggs
BDay-old
chicks
CSlaughter/
restocking
D
NZ New Zealand XXXX
RO Romania XXXX
US United States of America XXXX
(*) Only applicable until this Acceding State becomes a Member State of the Community.▼M41996D0482 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 005.001 — 6▼A1
▼M4
▼A1
▼M4
▼M2
PART II
MODEL A
1996D0482 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 005.001 — 7
▼B
▼B
1996D0482 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 005.001 — 8
▼B
1996D0482 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 005.001 — 9
▼B
MODEL B
1996D0482 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 005.001 — 10
▼B
1996D0482 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 005.001 — 11
▼B
1996D0482 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 005.001 — 12
▼B
MODEL C
1996D0482 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 005.001 — 13
▼B
1996D0482 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 005.001 — 14
▼B
1996D0482 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 005.001 — 15
▼B
MODEL D
1996D0482 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 005.001 — 16
▼B
1996D0482 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 005.001 — 17
▼B
1996D0482 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 005.001 — 18
▼B
ANNEX II
Protocolsforthestandardizationofmaterialsandproceduresforveterinary
testsinconnectionwiththeimportofpoultryandhatchingeggsfromthird
countries
1.Newcastle disease
The sampling and testing methods have to comply with the methods
described in the Annex to Commission Decision 92/340/EEC on testing of
poultry for Newcastle disease prior to movement, in application of Article
12 of Council Directive 90/539/EEC.
2.Salmonella pullorum
— The sampling methods have to comply with the methods described in
Annex II, Chapter III of Directive 90/539/EEC.
— The testing methods have to comply with the methods described in the
Manual of Standards for diagnostic tests and vaccines, edited by OIE in
Paris (B67).
3.Salmonella gallinarum
— The sampling methods have to comply with the methods described in
Annex II, Chapter III of Directive 90/539/EEC.
— The testing methods have to comply with the methods described in the
Manual of Standards for diagnostic tests and vaccines, edited by OIE in
Paris (B62).
4.Salmonella arizonae
Serological examination: 60 birds have to be sampled at the point of lay.
Testing has to be carried out in accordance with the methods described in
the Manual of Standards for diagnostic tests and vaccines, edited by OIE in
Paris (B31, B47).
5.Mycoplasma gallisepticum
— The sampling methods have to comply with the methods described in
Annex II, Chapter III of Directive 90/539/EEC.
— The testing methods have to comply with the methods described in the
Manual of Standards for diagnostic tests and vaccines, edited by OIE in
Paris (B65).
6.Mycoplasma meleagridis
The sampling methods have to comply with the methods described in Annex
II, Chapter III of Directive 90/539/EEC.1996D0482 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 005.001 — 19
▼M3
ANNEX III
Sampling andtesting procedures for Newcastle disease andavian influenza
afterimportation
During the period foreseen in the second subparagraph of Article 3(1) the offi-
cial/authorised veterinarian shall take samples for virological examination from
the imported poultry, which shall be tested as follows:
— Cloacal swabs have to be taken from all birds, if the consignment is less
than 60, or from 60 birds of larger consignments, between the seventh and
the 15th day of the isolationperiod.
— All testing of samples for avian influenza and Newcastle disease must be
carried out in official laboratories designated by the competent authority,
and using diagnostic procedures in accordance with the terms of Annex III
of Council Directive 92/66/EEC and of Annex III of Council Directive 92/
40/EEC.
— Pooling of samples, up to a maximum of five samples of individual birds in
one pool, is allowed.
— Virus isolates must be submitted without delay to the National Reference
laboratory.1996D0482 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 005.001 — 20