Commission Decision

of 4 August 2003

laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Directive 93/25/EEC as regards the statistical surveys on sheep and goat population and production

(notified under document number C(2003) 2801)

(2003/597/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Directive 93/25/EEC of 1 June 1993 on the statistical surveys to be carried out on sheep and goat stocks(1), as last amended by Directive 97/77/EC(2), and in particular Article 1(4), Article 2(2), Article 3(2) and (3), Article 7, Article 10(1) and (2) and Article 13(3) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Commission Decision 94/434/EC of 30 May 1994 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Directive 93/25/EEC as regards the statistical surveys on sheep and goat population and production(3) has been substantially amended several times(4). In the interests of clarity and rationality the said Decision should be codified.

(2) Precise definitions are required in order to carry out the surveys provided for in Directive 93/25/EEC. This first requires the definition of the agricultural holdings covered by the survey. The individual categories into which the survey results are to be broken down should also be precisely defined, and the herd size classes and regions according to which the Member States draw up the survey results at regular intervals should be determined. A single definition of carcass weight is necessary for the drawing-up of slaughtering statistics.

(3) According to Directive 93/25/EEC, the Member States may, at their request, be authorised to use administrative sources instead of statistical surveys on sheep and goat stocks and the prescribed breakdown by herd size classes for the final results of even-numbered years.

(4) Applications have been made by the Member States for the various types of authorisation.

(5) This Decision is in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Agricultural Statistics,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

1. For the purposes of Article 2(2) of Directive 93/25/EEC, "agricultural holding" means any technical and economic unit under single management which produces agricultural products.

2. The survey referred to in Article 1(1) of Directive 93/25/EEC shall cover:

(a) agricultural holdings with a utilised agricultural area of 1 ha or more;

(b) agricultural holdings with a utilised agricultural area of less than 1 ha, if their production is to a certain extent intended for sale or if their production unit exceeds certain natural thresholds.

3. Member States wishing to apply a different survey threshold shall, however, undertake to determine that threshold in such a way that only the smallest holdings are excluded, and that together the holdings excluded account for 1 % or less of the total standard gross margin, within the meaning of Commission Decision 85/377/EEC(5), of the Member State concerned.

Article 2

The definitions of the categories of sheep and goat referred to in Article 3(1) and Article 13(2) of Directive 93/25/EEC are set out in Annex I.

Article 3

The territorial subdivisions referred to in Article 7(1) of Directive 93/25/EEC are set out in Annex II.

Article 4

The size classes referred to in Article 10(1) of Directive 93/25/EEC are set out in Annex III.

Article 5

The carcass weight referred to in Article 13(1) of Directive 93/25/EEC is defined in Annex IV.

Article 6

1. Pursuant to Article 1(3) of Directive 93/25/EEC, the Member States listed in point (a) of Annex V are authorised to use administrative sources instead of statistical surveys.

2. Pursuant to Article 10(2) of Directive 93/25/EEC, the Member States listed in point (b) of Annex V are authorised to use the breakdown by herd size classes for the final results of even-numbered years.

Article 7

Decision 94/434/EC is repealed.

References to the repealed Decision shall be construed as references to this Decision and shall be read in accordance with the correlation table set out in Annex VII.

Article 8

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels, 4 August 2003.

For the Commission

David Byrne

Member of the Commission

(1) OJ L 149, 21.6.1993, p. 10.

(2) OJ L 10, 16.1.1998, p. 28.

(3) OJ L 179, 13.7.1994, p. 33.

(4) See Annex VI.

(5) OJ L 220, 17.8.1985, p. 1.

ANNEX I

Definition of categories

Ewes and ewe lambs put to the ram

Females of the ovine species which have already lambed at least once as well as those which have been put to the ram for the first time.

Milk ewes

Ewes which are kept exclusively or principally to produce milk for human consumption and/or for processing into dairy products. This includes cast milk sheep (whether fattened or not between their last lactation and slaughtering).

Other ewes

Ewes other than milk sheep.

Lambs

Male or female sheep up to approximately 12 months old.

ANNEX II

Territorial subdivisions

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ANNEX III

TABLE 1

Size classes of sheep stocks held

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TABLE 2

Size classes of goat stocks held

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ANNEX IV

Definition of carcass weight

Carcass weight is the weight of the slaughtered animal's cold body after having been bled, skinned and eviscerated, and after removal of the head (severed at the atlanto-occipital joint), of the feet (severed at the carpometacarpal or tarso-metatarsal joints), of the tail (severed between the sixth and seventh caudal vertebrae) and of the genital organs (including udder).

Kidneys and kidney fats are included in the carcass.

ANNEX V

(a) Member States authorised to use administrative sources instead of statistical surveys.

(b) Member States authorised to use the breakdown by herd size classes for the final results of even-numbered years.

ANNEX VI

Repealed Decision with its successive amendments

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ANNEX VII

Correlation table

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