CELEX: 51989PC0500
Language: en
Date: 1989-10-17
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL REGULATION ( EEC ) ON ANIMAL HEALTH CONDITIONS GOVERNING THE PLACING OF RODENTS ON THE MARKET IN THE COMMUNITY

30. 12. 89                                Official Journal of the European Communities                               No C 327751
limit which the chairman may lay down according to the                                          Article 10
urgency of the matter. The opinion shall be delivered by the
majority laid down in Article 148 (2) of the Treaty in the case      1.     The Commission shall carry out regular on-the-spot
of decisions which the Council is required to adopt on a             checks to ensure that the eradication plan is being
proposal from the Commission. The votes of the                       applied.
representatives of the Member States within the Committee
shall be weighted in the manner set out in that Article. The         The Commission shall inform the Member States within the
chairman shall not vote.                                             Committee of developments regularly, at least once a year, in
                                                                     the light of the information provided by the Italian
                                                                     authorities, who shall submit a progress report to the
4.     The Commission shall adopt the measures envisaged if          Commission together with the applications for payment and
they are in accordance with the opinion of the                       any reports from experts who, acting on behalf of the
Committee.                                                           Community and appointed by the Commission, have made
                                                                     on-the-spot visits.
5.     If the measures envisaged are not in accordance with          2.     Should the eradiction plan require amendment in the
the opinion of the Committee, or if no opinion is delivered,         course of its execution, a new decision approving it shall be
the Commission shall, without delay, submit to the Council a         taken in accordance with the procedure laid down in
proposal relating to the measures to be taken. The Council           Article 9.
shall act by a qualified majority.
If, on the expiry of three months from the date of referral to                                  Article 11
the Council, the Council has not acted, the proposed
measures shall be adopted by the Commission.                         This Decision is addressed to the Italian Republic.
                Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) on animal health conditions governing the placing
                                           of rodents on the market in the Community
                                                         COM(89) 500 final
                                      (Submitted by the Commission on 30 October 1989)
                                                           (89/C 327/10)
 THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                             farming; whereas it constitutes a source of income for part of
                                                                     the farming population;
 Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
 Economic Community, and in particular Article 43                     Whereas, with a view to encouraging intra-Community trade
 thereof,                                                             in rodents, it is advisable to remove disparities between
                                                                      Member States as regards animal health restrictions;
 Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
                                                                      Whereas, if they are to be placed on the market, rodents must
 Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,
                                                                      meet certain animal health requirements designed to avoid
                                                                      the spread of contagious diseases;
 Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
 Committee,
                                                                      Whereas reference should be made, as regards the
 Whereas rodents, in particular rabbits, hares, mice and rats,        organisation and follow-up of the checks to be carried out by
 are, as live animals, included among the products listed in          the Member State of destination and as regards the protective
 Annex II to the EEC Treaty;                                          measures to be introduced, to the general rules laid down in
                                                                      Council Regulation (EEC) concerning veterinary controls in
                                                                      intra-Community trade with a view to the completion of the
 Whereas, in order to ensure the harmonious development of            internal market (*);
 the production of rodents and thus raise productivity in that
 sector, it is advisable to lay down common rules regarding
 the placing of rodents on the market in the Community;               Whereas provision should be made for allowing the
                                                                       Commission to conduct its own independent checks,
 Whereas the breeding and rearing of rodents, and in
 particular of rabbits is generally regarded as a type of              (M OJ No C 225, 31. 8. 1988, p. 4.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 327/58                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                    30. 12. 89
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:                                        — two months in the case of haemorrhagic disease,
                                                                    — three months in the case of tularemia.
                           Article 1
This Regulation lays down the animal health conditions                                          Article 6
governing the placing of rodents on the market in the
Community.                                                          1.     The placing of wild rodents on the market shall be
                                                                    prohibited if they come from a zone of a radius of 10
                                                                    kilometres, in which one of the disease referred to in Article 4
                                                                    is present or is suspected of being present.
                           Article 2
                                                                    2.     The period of prohibition after the last recorded case
For the purposes of this Regulation:
                                                                    must be at least three months.
1. 'rodents' means animals of the order of rodents,
    including lagomorphs;
2. 'domestic rodents' means rodents born, bred and kept in                                      Article 7
    captivity;
                                                                    Regulation (EEC) shall apply, in particular as regards the
3. 'wild rodents' means rodents born and living in their            organization of and the follow-up to the checks carried out
    natural habitat.                                                by the Member State of destination, and the safeguard
                                                                    measures to be applied.
                           Article 3
                                                                                                Article 8
Without prejudice to Article 8, all rodents may be placed on
the market in the Community, provided they are not subject
                                                                    Pending the application of the Community rules concerned,
to a prohibition as laid down in Articles 5 and 6.
                                                                    the conditions applicable to the import of rodents from third
                                                                    countries must not be more favourable than those governing
                                                                    intra-Community trade.
                           Article 4
The presence or suspected presence of the following diseases
                                                                                                Article 9
must be reported to the official veterinarian:
— rabies,                                                           Veterinary experts of the Commission may, where required
                                                                    in the interests of the uniform application of this Regulation,
— myxomatosis,                                                      carry out on-the-spot inspections. The Commission shall
                                                                    inform the Member States of the results of the inspections
— haemorrhagic disease,                                             carried out.
— tularemia.
                                                                    The Member States on whose territory the inspections are
                                                                    carried out shall provide the experts with all the assistance
                                                                    required to perform their work.
                           Article 5
                                                                    The Commission shall lay down general rules for the
1.     The removal of domestic rodents from a holding shall         application of this Article and adopt a code of rules in respect
be prohibited if they come from or if they have been in             of the inspections referred to in this Article.
contact with animals from a holding where one of the
diseases referred to in Article 4 and to which they are
susceptible is present or is suspected of being present.
                                                                                                Article 10
2.     The period of prohibition after the last recorded case
must, where the animals of susceptible species have not been        This Regulation shall enter into force on the 30th day
slaughtered and the premises have not been disinfected, be at       following its publication in the Official Journal of the
least:                                                              European Communities.
— one month in the case of rabies,
                                                                    This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly
— two months in the case of myxomatosis,                            applicable in all Member States.