2004/550/EC: Commission Decision of 13 July 2004 amending Decision 2003/828/EC as regards movements of animals vaccinated against bluetongue from protection zones (notified under document number C(2004) 1925)(Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2004-07-13
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: animal disease, disease prevention, sheep, transport of animals, veterinary inspection, veterinary legislation

16.7.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 244/51

COMMISSION

COMMISSION DECISION

of 13 July 2004

amending Decision 2003/828/EC as regards movements of animals vaccinated against bluetongue
from protection zones

(notified under document number C(2004) 1925)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2004/550/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

(3)

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

Having regard to Council Directive 2000/75/EC of 20
November 2000 laying down specific provisions
the
control and eradication of bluetongue (1), and in particular
Article 9(1)(c) thereof,

for

Whereas:

Taking into account that conclusion, the conditions for
movements of vaccinated animals laid down in Decision
2003/828/EC were amended, on the basis of
the
situation prevailing during the last quarter of 2003, by
Decision 2004/34/EC in order to allow such movements
without requiring the cessation of the virus circulation in
the area of origin or of the vector activity in the area of
destination. Nevertheless,
a precaution, Decision
as
2003/828/EC, as amended by Decision 2004/34/EC,
provided that possibility only for domestic movements
from areas where the vaccination had been completed
according to the programme adopted by the competent
authority of the Member State concerned.

(4)

Commission Decision 2003/828/EC of 25 November
2003 on protection and surveillance zones in relation
to bluetongue (2) was adopted in the light of the blue-
tongue situation prevailing in the affected regions of the
Community. That Decision demarcates protection and
surveillance zones (the restricted zones) corresponding
to specific epidemiological situations and lays down the
conditions for providing exemptions from the exit ban
laid down in Directive 2000/75/EC (the exit ban) on
movements of animals in and from those zones.

it

the

concerned,

reduction of

the virus circulation in all
is now possible

After
third vaccination campaign which was
conducted during winter 2003 to 2004 and the
the
general
restricted zones
to
consider general conditions for national movements of
vaccinated animals from any restricted zones without
taking into consideration the residual virus circulation
in the area of origin. Nevertheless, as a precaution,
animals should come from herds vaccinated according
to the programme adopted by the competent authority
of
vector
surveillance programme in an epidemiologically relevant
area of destination should have proved no adult Culicoïdes
imicola activity.

concerned and the

the Member State

(1)

(2)

A Symposium on bluetongue was organised by the
Office International des Epizooties (OIE, World Organi-
sation for Animal Health) from 26 to 29 October 2003.
One of the conclusions of that Symposium was that
animals may move from an infected zone to a blue-
tongue-free zone without posing a risk of virus spread
if they have been vaccinated at least one month prior to
the date of movement, provided that the vaccine used
covers all serotypes present in the area of origin.

(1) OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p. 74.
(2) OJ L 311, 27.11.2003, p. 41. Decision as amended by Decision

2004/34/EC (OJ L 7, 13.1.2004, p. 47).

(5)

for
Article 3(1) of Decision 2003/828/EC provides
exemptions from the exit ban for domestic movements
of animals, their sperm, ova and embryos and applies to
certain restricted zones in France and Italy. It is appro-
priate to correct a clerical error concerning the omission
of Spain from Article 3(1) of that Decision.

L 244/52

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

16.7.2004

(6)

(7)

Decision 2003/828/EC should therefore be amended
accordingly.

(a)

the animals originate from a herd vaccinated according
to the programme adopted by the competent authority;

The measures provided for
accordance with
Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,

in this Decision are in
Standing
the

opinion

the

of

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

Decision 2003/828/EC is amended as follows:

(b) the animals have been vaccinated more than 30 days and
less than one year before the date of dispatch against the
serotype(s) present or possibly present in an epidemio-
logically relevant area of origin;

(c)

the vector surveillance programme in an epidemiolo-
gically relevant area of destination has proved no adult
Culicoïdes imicola activity.’;

2. Annex I
Decision.

is replaced by the text

in the Annex to this

1.

in Article 3, paragraphs 1 and 2 are replaced by the
following:

Article 2

‘1.
Domestic dispatches of animals, their sperm, ova and
embryos, from a restricted zone set out in Annex I shall be
exempted from the exit ban provided that the animals, their
sperm, ova and embryos comply with the conditions set out
in Annex II or, in the case of Spain, France and Italy, that
they comply with paragraph 2 or in the case of Greece that
they comply with paragraph 3.

2.
In Spain, France and Italy, domestic dispatches as
provided for in paragraph 1 shall be exempted from the
exit ban by the competent authority if:

This Decision shall apply from 5 August 2004.

Article 3

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels, 13 July 2004.

For the Commission

David BYRNE
Member of the Commission

16.7.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 244/53

ANNEX

‘ANNEX I

(Restricted zones: geographic areas where protection and surveillance zones shall be established by the Member States)

Zone A (serotypes 2 and 9 and, to a lesser extent, 4 and 16)

Italy

Abruzzo:

Chieti, all Municipalities belonging to the Local Health Unit of Avezzano-Sulmona

Basilicata:
Calabria:

Matera, and Potenza
Catanzaro, Cosenza, Crotone, Reggio Calabria, Vibo Valentia

Campania:

Caserta, Benevento, Avellino, Napoli, Salerno

Lazio:
Molise:

Puglia:

Sicilia:

Malta (*)

Italy

Abruzzo:

Lazio:
Marche:

Toscana:

Umbria:

Frosinone, Latina
Isernia, Campobasso

Foggia, Bari, Lecce, Taranto, Brindisi

Agrigento, Catania, Caltanissetta, Enna, Messina, Palermo, Ragusa, Siracusa and Trapani

Zone B (serotype 2)

L’Aquila with the exception of all Municipalities belonging to the Local Health Unit of Avezzano-Sulmona
Viterbo, Roma, Rieti
Ascoli Piceno, Macerata

Massa Carrara, Pisa, Grosseto, Livorno

Terni and Perugia

Zone C (serotypes 2 and 4 and, to a lesser extent, 16)

Spain

Islas Baleares

France
Corse du sud, Haute-Corse

Italy
Sardinia:

Greece

Cagliari, Nuoro, Sassari, Oristano

Zone D

The entire Greek territory with the exception of prefectorates listed in Zone E

Zone E

Greece

Dodekanisi, Samos, Chios and Lesvos prefectorates

Cyprus (*)

(*) Transitional animal health status for Cyprus and Malta, pending the analysis of epidemiological data; status to be reviewed at the latest

by 1 May 2007.’.