Commission Regulation (EC) No 708/2008 of 24 July 2008 amending Regulation (EC) No 1266/2007 as regards the conditions for exempting certain animals of susceptible species from the exit ban provided for in Council Directive 2000/75/EC (Text with EEA relevance)

25.7.2008 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 197/18
COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 708/2008
of 24 July 2008
amending Regulation (EC) No 1266/2007 as regards the conditions for exempting certain animals of susceptible species from the exit ban provided for in Council Directive 2000/75/EC
(Text with EEA relevance)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Directive 2000/75/EC of 20 November 2000 laying down specific provisions for the control and eradication of bluetongue (1), and in particular Article 9(1)(c), Articles 11 and 12 and the third paragraph of Article 19 thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Commission Regulation (EC) No 1266/2007 (2) lays down rules for the control, monitoring, surveillance and restrictions on movements of animals, in relation to bluetongue, in and from the restricted zones. It also establishes the conditions for exemptions from the exit ban applicable to movements of susceptible animals, their semen, ova and embryos provided for in Directive 2000/75/EC.
(2) New scientific information recently gathered by several Member States on bluetongue virus pathogenesis indicates that the trans-placental transmission of the bluetongue virus is likely to occur at least for serotype 8. Therefore, the precautionary measures taken to prevent the possible spread of that disease by pregnant animals or certain newborn animals, provided for in Regulation (EC) No 1266/2007, as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 384/2008 (3), should be maintained.
(3) Animals that were immune to the bluetongue infection before artificial insemination or mating, due to vaccination with a modified life vaccine or an inactivated vaccine, are not considered to pose any significant risk as regards that disease provided that sufficient time has elapsed between vaccination and insemination or mating. Regulation (EC) No 1266/2007, as amended by Regulation (EC) No 384/2008, only covers animals vaccinated by inactivated vaccines.
(4) As preliminary scientific information recently obtained does not indicates that there is an additional risk associated with pregnant animals vaccinated with live modified vaccines at least 60 days prior to insemination or mating, it should be possible to exempt all immunised animals vaccinated with either inactivated or modified live vaccines from the exit ban provided that sufficient time has elapsed between vaccination and insemination or mating.
(5) Animals that might not meet all the requirements necessary to move from a holding located in a restricted zone to another holding located outside the restricted zone in accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 1266/2007 but that are exported to a third country do not pose an additional risk for the Community health status, since they are not destined for a holding in the Community. Consequently, the requirements for their movement to the exit point as defined in Commission Decision 93/444/EEC of 2 July 1993 on detailed rules governing intra-Community trade in certain live animals and products intended for exportation to third countries (4) should not exceed those applied to animals sent to slaughterhouses in accordance with paragraph 4 of Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 1266/2007. Accordingly, no additional certification concerning the conditions laid down in Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 1266/2007 should be required where such animals are accompanied by a certificate in accordance with Decision 93/444/EEC. The reference to Decision 93/444/EEC in Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 1266/2007 should therefore be deleted.
(6) If in accordance with animal welfare rules a rest period is foreseen due to the length of the transport for animals moved to a slaughterhouse or exit point, the derogations for movements of such animals should only apply if it is possible that the rest period takes place in a control post located in the same restricted zone of the holding of origin, as only in those cases there is no additional risk associated with such interruption of the direct transport in control posts.
(7) Regulation (EC) No 1266/2007 should therefore be amended accordingly.
(8) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,