Commission Regulation (EC) No 644/2005 of 27 April 2005 authorising a special identification system for bovine animals kept for cultural and historical purposes on approved premises as provided for in Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilText with EEA relevance
Date: 2005-04-27
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: agricultural census, bull, derogation from EU law, labelling, traceability

L 107/18

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

28.4.2005

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 644/2005

of 27 April 2005

authorising a special
purposes on approved premises as provided for in Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 of

identification system for bovine animals kept for cultural and historical
the

European Parliament and of the Council

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

(4)

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 of
the
European Parliament and of the Council of 17 July 2000 estab-
lishing a system for the identification and registration of bovine
animals and regarding the labelling of beef and beef products
and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 820/97 (1), and in
particular third subparagraph of Article 4(1) and the intro-
ductory phrase and point (a) of Article 10 thereof,

Whereas:

(5)

(6)

(1)

(2)

(3)

Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 provides
that each
Member State is to establish an identification system
for bovine animals which comprises several identification
and registration elements. In particular, it provides that
all animals on a holding born after 31 December 1997
or intended for intra-Community trade after 1 January
1998 and,
for animals on a holding in the Czech
Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary,
Malta, Poland, Slovenia or Slovakia, born by the date
intra-Community trade
of accession or
after that date, that such animals shall be identified by
an ear tag approved by the competent authority, applied
to each ear (‘approved ear tags’). It also provides for that
both ear tags shall bear the same unique identification
it
code
possible to identify each animal
individually together
with the holding on which it was born.

identification code’), which makes

intended for

(‘unique

Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 also provides that bovine
animals intended for cultural and sporting events (with
the exception of fairs and exhibitions) may, instead of by
an ear tag, be identified by an identification system
offering equivalent guarantees and authorised by the
Commission.

Commission Regulation (EC) No 2680/1999 of 17
December 1999 approving a system of
identification
for bulls intended for cultural and sporting events (2),
lays down provisions for such bulls registered to the
herd books of specified organisations. However,
that
Regulation only applies to certain breeds of bulls and
to organisations in certain Member States.

(1) OJ L 204, 11.8.2000, p. 1. Regulation as amended by the 2003 Act

of Accession.

(2) OJ L 326, 18.12.1999, p. 16.

It is therefore appropriate to adopt a separate Regulation
to establish a special
identification system for animals
recognised by the competent authority as being kept
for cultural and historical purposes (‘the animals’) on
premises approved for that purpose by that authority
(‘the premises’).

identification system should,

The special
in accordance
with Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000, provide for dero-
gations only from the application and removal of the
approved ear tags. This regulation is without prejudice
to the application of the other provisions of Regulation
(EC) No 1760/2000.

to provide
that
removed without

By way of derogation from Regulation (EC) No
the
1760/2000,
it
is
appropriate
approved ear
the
tags may be
the competent authority, but under its
permission of
control, after animals are moved to the premises and
that such ear tags not need to be applied to animals
born on such premises. In both cases the animals must
be marked by specific means of
identification. The
approved ear tags should be applied to animals when
they
should
accompany the animals if they are moved directly to
other premises.

are moved

from the

premises

or

(7)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in
accordance with the opinion of
the European Agri-
cultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund Committee,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Subject matter

identification
This Regulation lays down rules for a special
recognised by the competent
system for bovine animals
authority as being kept
for cultural and historical purposes
(‘the animals’) on premises approved for that purpose by the
competent authority (‘the premises’).

Article 2

Removal and application of the ear tags provided for in
the first subparagraph of Article 4(1) of Regulation (EC)
No 1760/2000

The keeper of

the animals shall, at all

1.
times, be in
possession of the two ear tags approved by the competent
authority in accordance with the first subparagraph of Article
4(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 (‘the approved ear tags’).

28.4.2005

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 107/19

By way of derogation from Article 4(5) of Regulation (EC)
2.
No 1760/2000, where the animals are moved to the premises,
the approved ear tags may be removed from the animals
without permission of the competent authority but under its
the control, provided that, at the latest when the approved ear
tags are removed, the animals are marked by the means of
identification chosen by the competent authority as provided
for in Article 3(1) of this Regulation.

By way of derogation from the first subparagraph of
3.
Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000, where the
animals are born on the premises, it shall not be compulsory
to apply the approved ear tags to them, provided that, at the
latest when the animals are 20 days old, they are marked by the
means of identification chosen by the competent authority as
provided for in Article 3(1) of this Regulation.

Before the animals leave the premises the approved ear

4.
tags shall be applied to the animals.

However, if the animals are moved directly to other premises
referred to in Article 1 in the same Member State, it is sufficient
for the approved ear tags to accompany the animals during the
movement.

Article 3

Means of identification

one of the following means to be decided by the competent
authority:

(a)

two plastic or metallic ear tags;

(b) one plastic or metallic ear tag together with brand marking;

(c) a tattoo; or

(d) an electronic identifier contained in a ruminal bolus.

2.
By way of derogation from paragraph 1, the competent
authority may decide that the animals may be identified by
means of an electronic identifier in the form of an injectable
transponder provided the animals identified in this manner do
not enter the food chain.

Article 4

Specific registration code

The competent authority shall allocate a specific registration
code to each of the premises.

That code shall be registered in the national computerised
database for bovine animals provided for in Article 5 of Regu-
lation (EC) No 1760/2000.

Article 5

1.
The animals shall be identified by the unique identification
code provided for in the first subparagraph of Article 4(1) of
Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000. That code shall be contained in

This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following
its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 27 April 2005.

For the Commission

Markos KYPRIANOU
Member of the Commission