Council Directive 2008/71/EC of 15 July 2008 on the identification and registration of pigs (Codified version)
Date: 2008-07-15
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: codification of EU law, directory, exchange of information, extra-EU trade, intra-EU trade, live animal, swine, veterinary inspection, zootechnics

8.8.2008

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Official Journal of the European Union

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DIRECTIVES

COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 2008/71/EC

of 15 July 2008

on the identification and registration of pigs

(Codified version)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty
Community, and in particular Article 37 thereof,

establishing the European

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

(4)

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (1),

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

Council Directive 92/102/EEC of 27 November 1992 on
the identification and registration of animals (2) has been
substantially amended several times (3). In the interests of
clarity and rationality the said Directive should be
codified.

to Article 3(1)(c)

of Council Directive
Pursuant
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 (4), animals for
intra-Community trade must be identified in accordance
with the requirements of Community rules and be
registered in such a way that
the original or transit
holding, centre or organisation can be traced. Before
1 January 1993,
those identification and registration
systems had to be extended to the movements of
animals within the territory of each Member State.

(3)

Article 14 of Council Directive 91/496/EEC of 15 July
1991 laying down the principles governing the organisa­

(1) Opinion of 11 March 2008 (not yet published in the Official

Journal).

(2) OJ L 355, 5.12.1992, p. 32. Directive as last amended by Regulation

(EC) No 21/2004 (OJ L 5, 9.1.2004, p. 8).

(3) See Annex I, Part A.
(4) OJ L 224, 18.8.1990, p. 29. Directive as last amended by Directive
2002/33/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
(OJ
L 315, 19.11.2002, p. 14).

tion of veterinary checks on animals entering the
Community from third countries (5) states that the iden­
tification and registration provided for in Article 3(1)(c)
of Directive 90/425/EEC of such animals must, except in
the case of animals for slaughter and registered equidae,
be carried out after the said checks have been made.

It is necessary to ensure the rapid and efficient exchange
of information between Member States for the correct
this Directive. Community provisions
application of
have been laid down by Council Regulation (EC) No
515/97 of 13 March 1997 on mutual assistance
between the administrative authorities of the Member
States and cooperation between the latter and the
Commission to ensure the correct application of
the
law on customs and agricultural matters (6) and by
Council Directive 89/608/EEC of 21 November 1989
on mutual assistance between the administrative authori­
ties of the Member States and cooperation between the
latter and the Commission to ensure the correct appli­
cation of
legislation on veterinary and zootechnical
matters (7).

Keepers of animals should maintain up-to-date records of
the animals on their holdings. Persons involved in the
commerce of animals
their
dealings. The competent authority should have access
to these records on request.

should keep records of

In order to permit movements of animals to be traced
rapidly and accurately, animals should be able to be
identified. A decision should be taken at a later date to
determine the nature of the mark and, pending such
decision, the national systems of
identification should
be maintained for movements restricted to the national
market.

Provision should be made for the possibility of waiving
the requirements for marks in the case of animals
moving directly from a farm to a slaughterhouse.
However, these animals should in any case be identified
so that their farm of origin can be traced.

(5)

(6)

(7)

(5) OJ L 268, 24.9.1991, p. 56. Directive as last amended by Directive

2006/104/EC (OJ L 363, 20.12.2006, p. 352).

(6) OJ L 82, 22.3.1997, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC)

No 807/2003 (OJ L 122, 16.5.2003, p. 36).

(7) OJ L 351, 2.12.1989, p. 34.

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(8)

(9)

(10)

Provision should be made for the possibility of waiving
the obligation to register the keepers of animals kept for
in order to take into account
personal purposes and,
certain particular cases,
for keeping
registers.

the procedures

In the case of animals in which the mark has become
illegible or been lost, a new mark enabling a link with
the previous mark to be established should be applied.

This Directive should not affect specific requirements set
out in Commission Decision 89/153/EEC of 13 February
1989 concerning the correlation of samples taken for
residue examination with animals and their farms of
origin (1) or any relevant applicatory rules established in
accordance with Directive 91/496/EEC.

(b) ‘holding’ means any establishment, construction or, in the
case of an open-air farm, any place in which animals are
held, kept or handled;

(c)

‘keeper’ means any natural or legal person responsible, even
on a temporary basis, for animals;

(d) ‘competent authority’ means the central authority of a
Member State competent to carry out veterinary checks or
any authority to which it has delegated that competence for
the purposes of implementing this Directive;

(e)

‘trade’ means trade as defined in point (3) of Article 2 of
Directive 90/425/EEC.

(11)

Provision should be made for a management committee
procedure for the adoption of any necessary implemen­
ting rules for this Directive.

Article 3

1. Member States shall ensure that:

(12)

This Directive should be without prejudice to the obli­
gations of the Member States relating to the time limits
for transposition into national
law of the Directive set
out in Annex I, Part B,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

This Directive sets out the minimum requirements for the iden­
tification and registration of pigs, without prejudice to more
detailed Community rules which may be established for
disease eradication or control purposes.

It shall apply without prejudice to Decision 89/153/EEC and to
implementing rules laid down in accordance with Directive
91/496/EEC.

Article 2

For the purposes of this Directive, the following definitions shall
apply:

(a)

‘animal’ means any animal of the Suidae family, excluding
feral pigs as defined in Article 2(b) of Council Directive
2001/89/EC of 23 October 2001 on Community
measures for the control of classical swine fever (2);

(1) OJ L 59, 2.3.1989, p. 33.
(2) OJ L 316, 1.12.2001, p. 5. Directive as

last amended by
Commission Decision 2007/729/EC (OJ L 294, 13.11.2007, p. 26).

(a)

the competent authority has an up-to-date list of all the
holdings which keep animals covered by this Directive
and are situated on its territory, specifying the keepers of
the animals; such holdings must remain on that list until
three consecutive years have elapsed with no animals on the
holding. That list must also include the mark or marks
which permit the identification of the holding in accordance
with the first subparagraph of Article 5(2) and Article 8;

(b) the Commission and the competent authority can have
access to all information obtained under this Directive.

2. Member States may be authorised in accordance with the
procedure referred to in Article 18 of Directive 90/425/EEC to
exclude from the list in paragraph 1(a) of this Article natural
persons who keep one single animal which is intended for their
own use or consumption, or to take account of particular
circumstances, provided that this animal
is subjected to the
controls laid down in this Directive before any movement.

Article 4

1. Member States shall ensure that any keeper contained in
the list provided for in Article 3(1)(a) keeps a register stating the
number of animals present on the holding.

That register shall include an up-to-date record of movements
(numbers of animals concerned by each entering and leaving
operation) at least on the basis of aggregate movements, stating
as appropriate their origin or destination, and the date of such
movements.

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The identification mark applied in conformity with Articles 5
and 8 shall be stated in all cases.

(c)

the keeper shall record any new mark in the register referred
to in Article 4 in order to establish a link with the previous
mark applied to the animal.

In the case of pure-bred and hybrid pigs, which are entered in a
herd-book in accordance with Council Directive 88/661/EEC of
19 December 1988 on the zootechnical standards applicable to
breeding animals of the porcine species (1), an alternative regis­
tration system based on individual
identification allowing the
animals to be identified may be recognised in accordance with
the procedure referred to in Article 18 of Directive 90/425/EEC
if it offers guarantees equivalent to a register.

2.
Animals must be marked as soon as possible, and in any
case before they leave the holding, with an eartag or tattoo
making it possible to determine the holding from which they
came and enabling reference to be made to any accompanying
document which must mention such eartag or tattoo and to the
list referred to in Article 3(1)(a).

2. Member States shall also ensure that:

(a) any keeper supplies the competent authority, upon request,
with all
identification
information concerning the origin,
and, where appropriate, the destination of animals which
he has owned, kept, transported, marketed or slaughtered;

(b) any keeper of animals to be moved to or from a market or
collection centre provides a document, containing details of
the animals in question, to the operator, on the market or
in the collection centre, who is a keeper of the animals, on a
temporary basis.

the documents obtained in
That operator may use
accordance with the first subparagraph to carry out the
obligations
third subparagraph of
paragraph 1;

laid down in the

(c)

the registers and information are available on the holding
and to the competent authority, upon request,
for a
minimum period to be determined by the competent
authority but which may not be less than three years.

Article 5

1. Member States shall ensure that
principles are respected:

the following general

(a)

identification marks must be applied before animals leave
the holding of birth;

(b) no mark may be

removed or

replaced without

the

permission of the competent authority.

Member States may, by derogation from the second subpara­
graph of Article 3(1)(c) of Directive 90/425/EEC, apply their
national systems for all movements of animals in their terri­
tories. Such systems must enable the holding from which they
came and the holding on which they were born to be identified.
Member States shall notify the Commission of
the systems
which they intend to introduce for this purpose. In accordance
with the procedure referred to in Article 18 of Directive
asked to make
90/425/EEC,
amendments
that
fulfil
requirement.

a Member State may be
to its

system where it does not

Animals bearing a temporary mark identifying a consignment
must be accompanied throughout
their movement by a
the origin, ownership, place of
document which enables
departure and destination to be determined.

Article 6

1. Where the competent authority of the Member State of
destination decides not to keep the identification mark allocated
to the animal in the holding of origin all charges incurred as a
result of replacing the mark shall be borne by that authority.
Where the mark has been so replaced, a link shall be established
between the identification allocated by the competent authority
of the Member State of dispatch and the new identification
allocated by the competent authority of the Member State of
destination; that link shall be recorded in the register provided
for in Article 4.

The option in the first subparagraph may not be invoked in the
case of animals intended for slaughter which are imported
under Article 8 without bearing a new mark in accordance
with Article 5.

Where a mark has become illegible or has been lost, a new
mark shall be applied in accordance with this Article;

(1) OJ L 382, 31.12.1988, p. 36. Directive as last amended by Regu­

lation (EC) No 806/2003 (OJ L 122, 16.5.2003, p. 1).

the Member State of destination may,

the competent
2. Where the animals have been traded,
authority of
for the
purposes of Article 5 of Directive 90/425/EEC, have recourse
to Article 4 of Directive 89/608/EEC in order to obtain the
information relating to the animals, their herd of origin and
any movement to which they have been subject.

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Article 7

Article 10

Member States shall ensure that any information relating to
movements of animals not accompanied by a certificate or a
document required by veterinary or zootechnical
legislation
remains available to the competent authority, upon request,
for a minimum period to be set by the latter.

Article 8

Any animal imported from a third country which has passed
the checks laid down by Directive 91/496/EEC and which
remains within Community territory shall, within thirty days
of undergoing those checks, and,
in any event, before their
movement, be identified by a mark complying with Article 5
of this Directive unless the holding of destination is a slaugh­
terhouse situated on the territory of the competent authority
responsible for veterinary checks and the animal
is actually
slaughtered within that 30-day period.

A link shall be established between the identification established
by the third country and the identification allocated to it by the
Member State of destination. That link shall be recorded in the
register provided for in Article 4.

Article 9

Member States shall adopt necessary administrative and/or penal
measures to punish any infringement of Community veterinary
legislation, where it is established that the marking or identifi­
cation or the keeping of registers provided for in Article 4 has
not been carried out in conformity with the requirements of
this Directive.

Member States shall communicate to the Commission the texts
of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the
field governed by this Directive.

Article 11

Directive 92/102/EEC, as amended by the acts listed in Annex I,
Part A, is repealed, without prejudice to the obligations of the
Member States relating to the time limits for transposition into
national law of the Directive set out in Annex I, Part B.

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

Article 12

This Directive shall enter into force on the 20th day following
the European
that of
Union.

its publication in the Official

Journal of

Article 13

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels, 15 July 2008.

For the Council
The President

M. BARNIER

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ANNEX I

PART A

Repealed Directive with list of its successive amendments

(referred to in Article 11)

Council Directive 92/102/EEC
(OJ L 355, 5.12.1992, p. 32)

Point V.E.I.4.6. of Annex I to the 1994 Act of Accession
(OJ C 241, 29.8.1994, p. 21)

Council Regulation (EC) No 21/2004
(OJ L 5, 9.1.2004, p. 8)

only Article 15

PART B

List of time limits for transposition into national law

(referred to in Article 11)

Directive

92/102/EEC

Time limit for transposition (1)

31.12.1993 (2)
31.12.1995 (3)

(1) The setting of the deadline for transposition into national

law at 1 January 1994 shall be without prejudice to the abolition of

veterinary checks at frontiers provided for in Directive 90/425/EEC (see Article 11(3) of Directive 92/102/EEC).
(2) For the requirements regarding porcine animals (see the first indent of Article 11(1) of Directive 92/102/EEC).
(3) For Finland, as concerns the requirements for bovine animals, swine, sheep and goats (see the second indent of Article 11(1) of

Directive 92/102/EEC).

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ANNEX II

CORRELATION TABLE

Directive 92/102/EEC

This Directive

Articles 1, 2 and 3

Articles 1, 2 and 3

Article 4(1)(a)

Article 4(2)

Article 4(3)

Article 4(1)

—

Article 4(2)

Article 5(1), points (a), (b) and (c)

Article 5(1), points (a), (b) and (c)

Article 5(1)(d)

Article 5(3)

Articles 6 to 9

Article 10

Article 11(1)

Article 11(2)

Article 11(3)

—

—

Article 12

—

—

—

Article 5(2)

Articles 6 to 9

—

—

Article 10

—

Article 11

Article 12

Article 13

Annex I

Annex II