Commission Regulation (EC) No 1739/2005 of 21 October 2005 laying down animal health requirements for the movement of circus animals between Member States   (Text with EEA relevance)

22.10.2005 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 279/47
COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1739/2005
of 21 October 2005
laying down animal health requirements for the movement of circus animals between Member States
(Text with EEA relevance)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Directive 92/65/EEC of 13 July 1992 laying down animal health requirements governing trade in and imports into the Community of animals, semen, ova and embryos not subject to animal health requirements laid down in specific Community rules referred to in Annex A(1) to Directive 90/425/EEC (1), and in particular Article 23 thereof,
Whereas:
(1) It is appropriate, in accordance with Directive 92/65/EEC, to lay down, by way of derogation from the general rules on animal movements in Chapter II of that Directive, special animal health requirements for the movement of circus animals. The measures provided for in this Regulation should apply to travelling exhibitions, fairs or animal acts but not permanent establishments referred to in Article 2(1)(c) of Directive 92/65/EEC.
(2) For animal health purposes, it is necessary for the competent authorities to have certain information on circuses and fairs which contain circus animals, in particular as regards movements between Member States. It is therefore appropriate to require that such circuses and fairs be registered in a Member State and that their itineraries be recorded.
(3) Circuses and fairs often perform outside their Member State of origin. It should therefore be possible for them to be registered in the Member State in which they are ordinarily resident or in which they are situated, even if that is not their Member State of origin.
(4) An animal act contains a single animal or a limited number of animals kept for the primary purpose of public exhibition or entertainment, and may be independently managed or owned. Animal acts may perform outside their Member State of origin, for example when forming part of a circus or when carrying out work on an individual basis such as activities for entertainment or filming. It is therefore also appropriate to include animal acts within the scope of this Regulation.
(5) The animal health risk posed by a circus or fair is directly related to the species of animals kept in it. Operators of circuses and of animal acts should therefore be required to keep registers recording the relevant information about the presence of their animals.
(6) It is necessary to facilitate controls on the animal health status of circus animals. Taking into account the different ways in which circus animals are moved within the Community, it is appropriate to provide for passports for circus animals which should record all the relevant animal health information, including details of official testing and vaccinations.
(7) The animal health rules for circus animals can be based on the same principles as the Community animal health legislation concerning intra-Community trade in domestic animals kept in holdings, including Council Directive 64/432/EEC of 26 June 1964 on animal health problems affecting intra-Community trade in bovine animals and swine (2) and Council Directive 91/68/EEC of 28 January 1991 on animal health conditions governing intra-Community trade in ovine and caprine animals (3). However, these rules should be adapted to the particular problems posed by the relevant animal species when they are kept in circuses and fairs and properly attested by an official veterinarian as defined in Article 2(7) of Council Directive 90/425/EEC (4).
(8) Animal health conditions and accompanying documentation or passports have been laid down for the intra-Community movement of cats, dogs and ferrets in Regulation (EC) No 998/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (5) and of equidae in Commission Decision 93/623/EEC (6). Circus animals of those species should therefore comply with the rules on passports and animal health laid down therein.
(9) In the interests of consistency, it is appropriate to permit Ireland, Cyprus, Malta, and the United Kingdom to apply to circus animals which are susceptible to rabies their national rules on quarantine as provided for in Directive 92/65/EEC.
(10) The measures provided for in this Regulation should be without prejudice to legislation implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 of 9 December 1996 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein (7).
(11) To ensure full traceability of circus animals, it is necessary to record intra-Community movements of circus animals using the Traces system introduced by Commission Decision 2004/292/EC (8), and to apply the certification requirements for intra-Community trade as laid down in Commission Regulation (EC) No 599/2004 of 30 March 2004 concerning the adoption of a harmonised model certificate and inspection report linked to intra-Community trade in animals and products of animal origin (9).
(12) Sufficient time should be allowed to permit the implementation of the new requirements provided for in this Regulation.
(13) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,