2007/411/EC: Commission Decision of 14 June 2007 prohibiting the placing on the market of products derived from bovine animals born or reared within the United Kingdom before 1 August 1996 for any purpose and exempting such animals from certain control and eradication measures laid down in Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 and repealing Decision 2005/598/EC (notified under document number C(2007) 2473)
Date: 2007-06-14
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: United Kingdom, animal product, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, cattle, health legislation, marketing restriction, veterinary legislation

L 155/74

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

15.6.2007

COMMISSION DECISION

of 14 June 2007

prohibiting the placing on the market of products derived from bovine animals born or reared
within the United Kingdom before 1 August 1996 for any purpose and exempting such animals
from certain control and eradication measures laid down in Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 and
repealing Decision 2005/598/EC

(notified under document number C(2007) 2473)

(Only the English text is authentic)

(2007/411/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

(4)

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 laying down
rules for the prevention, control and eradication of certain
transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (1), and in particular
Articles 13(1) and 13(3) thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

Commission Decision 2005/598/EC of 2 August 2005
prohibiting the placing on the market of products
derived from bovine animals born or reared within the
United Kingdom before 1 August 1996 for any purpose
and exempting such animals from certain control and
eradication measures laid down in Regulation (EC) No
999/2001 (2) places a marketing ban on all products
consisting of or incorporating materials derived from
bovine animals born or reared in the United Kingdom
before 1 August 1996. However, by way of derogation,
milk and hides prepared for use for leather production
can be placed on the market.

Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 lays down
measures to be applied when the presence of bovine
spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) has been officially
in the
confirmed. One of
immediate and complete destruction of all parts of the
body, including hide, of bovine animals belonging to the
cohort of the animal in which BSE was confirmed.

these measures consists

Before August 1996, the identification system for cattle
in the United Kingdom was insufficient to allow reliable
tracing of animals and accurate identification of cohorts
of BSE-positive cases. Consequently, all cattle born before
August 1996 are considered to be cohort animals.

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 provides
that, by way of derogation from complete destruction of
all parts of the body of cohort animals, Member States
may apply other measures offering an equivalent level of
protection,
if such measures have been approved in
accordance with a committee procedure.

the production of

On 18 May 2006, the European Food Safety Agency
(EFSA) adopted an opinion on the BSE risk from
bovine hides coming from cohort animals (3). EFSA
recognised that
leather made from
the hides of cohort animals presents a negligible risk
slaughtered in
provided these
dedicated premises or separated in time from normal
clearly and immediately
slaughter,
labelled before being transported direct
to processing
facilities and, in addition, that all tanned and un-tanned
by-products are destroyed.

their hides

animals

either

are

are

On 12 March 2007, the United Kingdom presented an
official protocol for channelling all hides coming from
bovine animals born or reared before 1 August 1996 in
the United Kingdom (4)
(the official protocol). This
protocol is entirely under official supervision and meets
the conditions recommended for cohort hides in the
EFSA opinion adopted on 18 May 2006.

The United Kingdom should therefore be allowed to use
cattle cohort hides deriving from bovine animals born or
reared in the United Kingdom before 1 August 1996 for
leather production.

legal

For
reasons, Decision 2005/598/EC should be
repealed and replaced by a new one whose provisions,
except for those related to hides, are identical.

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

in this Decision are in
Standing
the

opinion

the

of

(1) OJ L 147, 31.5.2001, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

biohaz_opinions/1575.html

lation (EC) No 1923/2006 (OJ L 404, 30.12.2006, p. 1).

(2) OJ L 204, 5.8.2005, p. 22.

(4) Available at http://www.rpa.gov.uk/rpa/index.nsf/UIMenu/

DF2A12FDD9D660C1802570D2003ED00C?Opendocument

(3) Available at http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/science/biohaz/

15.6.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 155/75

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

those born in the 12 months following 1 August 1996
under official movement restriction until the results of a
clinical and epidemiological examination are known;

No products consisting of or incorporating materials,
1.
other than milk, derived from bovine animals born or reared
within the United Kingdom before 1 August 1996 shall be
placed on the market.

(b) in Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 and Annex
VII
to
to that Regulation concerning confirmed cases,
identify and destroy animals other than the confirmed case.

2.
On the death of any bovine animal born or reared within
the United Kingdom before 1 August 1996, all its body parts
shall be disposed of in accordance with Regulation (EC) No
1774/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1).

3.
By way of derogation from the provisions laid down in
paragraphs 1 and 2 and from the provisions laid down in
Article 13(1)(c) of Regulation (EC) No 999/2001, the hides of
bovine animals born or reared within the United Kingdom
before 1 August 1996,
including hides coming from bovine
animals referred to in the third indent of point 1(a) of Annex
VII to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001, may be used for leather
production. Collection, transport and processing of these hides
shall be done in dedicated approved facilities and under strict
official supervision according to the official protocol approved
by the competent authorities. All by-products, except leather,
derived from these hides and produced in the dedicated facilities
shall be disposed of as Category 1 materials in accordance with
Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002.

2.
However, the following animals shall be identified, killed
and destroyed in accordance with Regulation (EC) No
999/2001:

(a) where the disease is confirmed in a female animal, all its
progeny born within two years prior to, or after, clinical
onset of the disease;

(b) where the disease is confirmed in an animal born in the 12
months preceding 1 August 1996, cohort animals born
after 31 July 1996.

Article 3

Decision 2005/598/EC is repealed.

Article 4

Article 2

This Decision is addressed to the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland.

1. When a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) is
suspected or has been officially confirmed in a bovine animal
born or reared within the United Kingdom before 1 August
1996, the United Kingdom shall be exempted from the imple-
mentation of the requirements:

(a)

in Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 to place the
remaining bovine animals from that holding other than

Done at Brussels, 14 June 2007.

For the Commission

Markos KYPRIANOU
Member of the Commission

(1) OJ L 273, 10.10.2002, p. 1.