2001/349/EC: Commission Decision of 3 May 2001 amending Decision 2001/327/EC concerning restrictions to the movement of animals of susceptible species with regard to foot-and-mouth disease and repealing Decision 2001/263/EC (Text with EEA relevance) (notified under document number C(2001) 1214)
Date: 2001-05-03
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: export restriction, foot-and-mouth disease, health legislation, intra-EU trade, transport of animals, veterinary inspection

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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COMMISSION DECISION

of 3 May 2001

amending Decision 2001/327/EC concerning restrictions to the movement of animals of susceptible
species with regard to foot-and-mouth disease and repealing Decision 2001/263/EC

(notified under document number C(2001) 1214)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2001/349/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Directive 90/425/EEC of 26 June
1990 concerning veterinary and zootechnical checks applicable
in intra-Community trade in certain live animals and products
with a view to the completion of the internal market (1), as last
amended by Directive 92/118/EEC (2), and in particular Article
10 thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

The animal health conditions for trade in bovine animals
and swine are laid down in Council Directive 64/
432/EEC of 26 June 1964 on animal health problems
affecting intra-Community trade in bovine animals and
swine (3), as last amended by Directive 2000/20/EC (4).

The animal health conditions for trade in ovine and
caprine animals are laid down in Council Directive 91/
68/EEC of 28 January 1991 on animal health conditions
governing intra-community trade in ovine and caprine
animals (5), as last amended by Commission Decision
94/953/EC (6).

The animal health conditions for trade in biungulates
other than those referred to in Directive 64/432/EEC
and 91/68/EEC are laid down in Council Directive 92/
65/EEC of 13 July 1992 laying down animal health
requirements governing trade in and imports into the
Community of animals, semen, ova and embryos not
subject
to animal health requirements laid down in
specific Community rules referred to in Annex A(I) to

(1) OJ L 224, 18.8.1990, p. 29.
(2) OJ L 62, 15.3.1993, p. 49.
(3) OJ 121, 29.7.1964, p. 1977/64.
(4) OJ L 163, 4.7.2000, p. 35.
(5) OJ L 46, 19.2.1991, p. 19.
(6) OJ L 371, 31.12.1994, p. 14.

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

Directive 90/425/EEC (7), as last amended by Commis-
sion Decision 95/176/EC (8).

The welfare conditions for transport of animals within
the Community are laid down in Council Directive 91/
628/EEC of 19 November 1991 on the protection of
animals during transport and amending Directives 90/
425/EEC and 91/496/EEC (9), as
last amended by
Directive 95/29/EC (10).

Council Regulation (EC) No 1255/97 of 25 June
1997 (11) concerns Community criteria for
staging
points and amends the route plan referred to in the
Annex to Directive 91/628/EEC.

Following the reports of outbreaks of foot-and-mouth
disease in the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands
and Ireland, the Commission adopted Decisions 2001/
172/EC (12), 2001/208/EC (13), 2001/223/EC (14)
and
2001/234/EC (15) concerning certain protection meas-
ures with regard to foot-and-mouth disease in the
respective Member State.

The foot-and-mouth disease situation in certain parts of
the Community is liable to endanger the herds in other
parts of the Community in view of the placing on the
market and trade in live biungulate animals.

All Member States have implemented the restrictions to
the movement of animals of susceptible species laid
down in Decision 2001/327/EC (16) concerning restric-
tions to the movement of animals of susceptible species
with regard to foot-and-mouth disease and repealing
Decision 2001/263/EC.

investigations carried out

In the light of the disease evolution and the findings of
the epidemiological
in the
affected Member States in close cooperation with the
other Member States, it appears appropriate to further
prohibit
the movement of animals through staging
points and to maintain for an additional period of time
the restrictions to the movement of susceptible animals
within the Community.

(7) OJ L 268, 14.9.1992, p. 54.
(8) OJ L 117, 24.5.1995, p. 23.
(9) OJ L 340, 11.12.1991, p. 17.
(10) OJ L 148, 30.6.1995, p. 52.
(11) OJ L 174, 2.7.1997, p. 1.
(12) OJ L 62, 2.3.2001, p. 22.
(13) OJ L 73, 15.3.2001, p. 38.
(14) OJ L 82, 22.3.2001, p. 29.
(15) OJ L 84, 23.3.2001, p. 62.
(16) OJ L 115, 25.4.2001, p. 12.

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(10) However it is possible to ease certain restrictions by

amending Decision 2001/327/EC.

In the case of intra-Community trade, the assembly
centre must be approved, or

(11)

(12)

The situation shall be reviewed at the meeting of the
Standing Veterinary Committee scheduled for 2 May
2001 and the measures adapted where necessary.

The measures provided for in this Decision are in
accordance with the opinion of the Standing Veterinary
Committee,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

Commission Decision 2001/327/EC is amended as follows:

1. Article 1 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 1

For the purpose of this Decision:

1. “approved assembly centres” shall be those defined in
Article 2(2)(o) of Council Directive 64/432/EEC and
communicated in accordance with Article 11(3) of that
Directive to the Member States and the Commission
until 2 May 2001 at the latest;

2. “region of a Member State” shall mean part of the terri-
tory of the Community as defined in Article 2(2)(p) of
Directive 64/432/EEC.’

2. A new Article 2 is inserted as follows:

‘Article 2

Member States other than the United Kingdom shall ensure
that:

1. Transport of animals of species susceptible to foot-and-

mouth disease is prohibited.

Without prejudice to Council Directives 64/432/EEC, 91/
68/EEC and 92/65/EEC, this prohibition shall not apply
to movements of animals of species susceptible to
foot-and-mouth disease from the holding of dispatch:

— directly or through one single assembly centre to a

slaughterhouse for immediate slaughter,

In the case of intra-Community trade, the assembly
centre must be approved and the transport is subject
to authorisation by the competent authorities of the
place of departure and destination, or

— directly or through one single assembly centre to one
single holding of destination in the case of animals of
susceptible species other than bovine and porcine
animals subject to authorisation by the competent
authorities of the place of departure and destination,

— directly to another holding in the case of bovine and
to notification to the

porcine animals,
competent authorities of the place of departure.

subject

In the case of intra-Community trade the transport is
subject to authorisation by the competent authorities
of the place of departure and destination.

Derogating from the notification requirement in the
first point of this indent, Member States may grant a
general movement licence valid for 30 days for direct
movement within the same Member State from one
holding to another holding which takes place regu-
larly in established contractual relations between the
holding of departure and destination. Such license
shall be immediately withdrawn in the case of a
suspect case of foot-and-mouth disease within the
region where the holding of dispatch is situated, or

— directly or through one single assembly centre to a
maximum of 10 holdings of destination in the case
of bovine and porcine animals, subject to author-
isation by the competent authorities of the place of
departure,

In the case of intra-Community trade, the assembly
centre must be approved and the transport is subject
to authorisation by the competent authorities of the
place of departure and destination, or

— directly or through an assembly point to group herds
or flocks for transhumance to designated pastures,
subject to authorisation by the competent authorities
of the place of departure and destination.

2. The movement of animals authorised in accordance with
the derogations in paragraph 1 shall take place under the
condition that:

(a) in the case of animals destined for intra-Community
trade, during transport such animals do not come
into contact with animals not of the same holding of
dispatch, unless such animals:

— either are consigned for slaughter, or

— originate in and come from holdings situated in a
region of a Member State in which no restrictions
in accordance with Article 9 of Directive 85/
511/EEC have been in place on the date of
dispatch and during at least 20 days of the resi-
dence period where required in paragraph 3;

(b) vehicles which have been used for the transport of
live animals are cleaned and disinfected after each
operation, and shall furnish proof of such disinfec-
tion, and

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(c) transports to other Member States of such animals
shall only be allowed following 24 hours advance
notification dispatched by the
local veterinary
authority to the central and local veterinary authori-
ties in the Member State of destination and to the
central veterinary authorities in the Member State of
transit.

3. Where required by this Decision, the competent authori-
ties at the place of departure authorise the movement of
animals of species susceptible to foot-and-mouth disease
only under one of the following conditions:

— animals are destined for intra-Community trade and
have remained on the holding of dispatch for at least
30 days prior to authorisation, or since birth in the
holding of origin where the animals are less than 30
days old, and no animal of susceptible species was
introduced into that holding during this period in the
case of ovine and caprine animals, or during the past
20 days in the case of bovine animals, or during the
past 10 days in the case of porcine animals,

— animals are destined for movement within the
Member State of dispatch and have remained on the
holding of dispatch for at least 20 days prior to
authorisation, or since birth in the holding of origin
where the animals are less than 20 days old, and no
animal of susceptible species was introduced into

that holding during this period, or during the past 10
days in the case of pigs,

— animals are destined for movement within a region

of a Member State,

— animals are transported directly and without passing
through an approved assembly centre to a slaughter-
house for immediate slaughter.

4. Without prejudice to Article 3(1)(aa) second indent of
shall
Council Directive 91/628/EEC, Member States
ensure that animals of species susceptible to foot-and-
mouth disease are not moved through staging points
established and approved in accordance with Council
Regulation (EC) No 1255/97.’

3. Articles 2 and 3 are renumbered accordingly.

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Article 2

Done at Brussels, 3 May 2001.

For the Commission

David BYRNE

Member of the Commission