Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/688 of 17 December 2019 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2016/429 of the European Parliament and of the Council, as regards animal health requirements for movements within the Union of terrestrial animals and hatching eggs (Text with EEA relevance) (Text with EEA relevance)

PART I

GENERAL RULES

Article 1

Subject-matter

This Regulation supplements the rules for the prevention and control of animal diseases transmissible to animals or to humans laid down in Article 5(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/429 as regards movements within the Union of kept terrestrial animals, wild terrestrial animals and hatching eggs.

Article 2

Scope

This Regulation shall apply to:

(a) kept and wild terrestrial animals and hatching eggs;

(b) establishments where those animals and hatching eggs are kept or undergo assembly operations;

(c) operators keeping those animals and hatching eggs;

(d) operators transporting terrestrial animals and hatching eggs;

(e) competent authorities of Member States.

Article 3

Definitions

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

(1) ‘means of transport’ means road or rail vehicle, vessels and aircrafts;

(2) ‘container’ means any crate, box, receptacle or other rigid structure used for the transport of animals or eggs which is not the means of transport;

(3) ‘environmentally isolated production establishment’ means an establishment where its structures together with its strict biosecurity measures, ensure an effective isolation of the production of animals from the associated facilities and from the environment;

(4) ‘bovine animal’ means an animal of the species of ungulates belonging to the genera Bison, Bos (including the subgenera Bos, Bibos, Novibos, Poephagus) and Bubalus (including the subgenus Anoa) and the offspring of crossings of those species;

(5) ‘establishment free from “disease” ’ means an establishment granted the disease-free status in accordance with the requirements set out in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/689;

(6) ‘status free from “disease” ’ means a disease-free status of a Member State or a zone thereof as approved by the Commission in accordance with Article 36 of Regulation (EU) 2016/429;

(7) ‘ “disease” ’ has not been reported’ means that no animal or group of animals of relevant species kept on the establishment has been classified as a confirmed case of that disease and any suspect case of that disease has been ruled out;

(8) ‘ “animals” intended for slaughter’ means kept terrestrial animals to be transported, either directly or after undergoing an assembly operation, to a slaughterhouse;

(9) ‘approved quarantine establishment’ means an establishment granted the approval in accordance with Article 14 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2035;

(10) ‘approved eradication programme’ means a disease eradication programme implemented in a Member State or zone thereof as approved by the Commission in accordance with Article 31(3) of Regulation (EU) 2016/429;

(11) ‘ovine animal’ means an animal of the species of ungulates belonging to the genus Ovis and the offspring of crossings of those species;

(12) ‘caprine animal’ means an animal of the species of ungulates belonging to the genus Capra and the offspring of crossings of those species;

(13) ‘porcine animal’ means an animal of the species of ungulates belonging to the family Suidae listed in Annex III to Regulation (EU) 2016/429;

(14) ‘equine animal’ means an animal of species of solipeds belonging to the genus Equus (including horses, asses, and zebras) and the offspring of crossings of those species;

(15) ‘camelid animal’ means an animal of the species of ungulates belonging to the family Camelidae listed in Annex III to Regulation (EU) 2016/429;

(16) ‘cervid animal’ means an animal of the species of ungulates belonging to the family Cervidae listed in Annex III to Regulation (EU) 2016/429;

(17) ‘other kept ungulates’ means kept ungulates other than bovine, ovine, caprine, porcine, equine, camelid and cervid animals;

(18) ‘vector protected establishment’ means part or all facilities of an establishment that are protected against attacks from Culicoides by appropriate physical and management means, with a status of vector protected establishment granted by the competent authority in accordance with Article 44 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/689.

(19) ‘vector-free period’ means in a defined area the period of inactivity of Culicoides determined in accordance with Section 5 of Chapter 1 of Part II of Annex V to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/689.

(20) ‘breeding poultry’ means poultry 72 hours old or more, intended for the production of hatching eggs;

(21) ‘productive poultry’ means poultry 72 hours old or more, reared for the production of meat, eggs for consumption or other products or for restocking supplies of game birds;

(22) ‘flock’ means all poultry or captive birds of the same health status kept on the same premises or in the same enclosure and constituting a single epidemiological unit; in housed poultry, this includes all birds sharing the same airspace;

(23) ‘day-old chicks’ means all poultry less than 72 hours old;

(24) ‘specified pathogen-free eggs’ means hatching eggs derived from ‘chicken flocks free from specified pathogens’, as described in the European Pharmacopoeia (¹) and which are intended solely for diagnostic, research or pharmaceutical use;

(25) ‘registered equine animal’ means: (a) a purebred breeding animal of the species Equus caballus and Equus asinus entered or eligible for entry in the main section of a breeding book established by a breed society or breeding body recognised in accordance with Articles 4 or 34 of Regulation (EU) 2016/1012; (b) a kept animal of the species Equus caballus registered with an international association or organisation, either directly or through its national federation or branches, which manages horses for competition or racing (‘registered horse’);

(26) ‘primates’ means animals of the species belonging to the order Primates excluding humans;

(27) ‘honeybee’ means an animal of the Apis mellifera species;

(28) ‘bumble bee’ means an animal of the species belonging to the genus Bombus;

(29) ‘dog’ means a kept animal of the Canis lupus species;

(30) ‘cat’ means a kept animal of the Felis silvestris species;

(31) ‘ferret’ means a kept animal of the Mustela putorius furo species;

(32) ‘other carnivores’ means animals of the species belonging to the order Carnivora other than dogs, cats and ferrets;

(33) ‘travelling circus’ means an exhibition or fair that includes animals or animal acts which is intended to move between Member States;

(34) ‘animal act’ means any act featuring animals kept for the purpose of an exhibition or fair, and which may form part of a circus;

(35) ‘racing pigeon’ means any pigeon transported or intended for transport from its pigeon house to another Member State in order to be released to fly back to the Member State of origin;

PART II

MOVEMENTS WITHIN THE UNION OF KEPT TERRESTRIAL ANIMALS AND HATCHING EGGS

CHAPTER 1

General requirements for movements of kept terrestrial animals and hatching eggs within the Union

Section 1

Disease prevention measures in relation to transport within the Union in addition to those provided for in Regulation (EU) 2016/429

Article 4

General requirements regarding means of transport

Operators, including transporters, shall ensure that the means of transport used for transporting kept terrestrial animals or hatching eggs, with the exception of the means of transport for the terrestrial animals referred to in Article 6, are:

(a) constructed in such a way that (i) animals or hatching eggs cannot escape or fall out; (ii) visual inspection of the space where animals are kept is possible; (iii) the escape of animal excrements, litter or feed is prevented or minimised; (iv) in the case of poultry and captive birds, the escape of feathers is prevented or minimised;

(b) cleaned and disinfected as soon as possible after every transport of animals, hatching eggs or any item representing an animal health risk, and, if necessary, cleaned and disinfected again and in any case dried or allowed to dry before any new loading of animals or hatching eggs.

Article 5

Requirements regarding containers in which kept terrestrial animals and hatching eggs are transported

Operators, including transporters, shall ensure that containers in which kept terrestrial animals and hatching eggs are transported, with the exception of the containers for the terrestrial animals referred to in Article 6:

(a) comply with the requirements in Article 4(a);

(b) contain only animals or hatching eggs of the same species, category and type, and of the same health status;

(c) are: (i) either unused and purpose-designed disposable containers to be destroyed after first use; or (ii) cleaned and disinfected after use and dried or allowed to dry before any subsequent use.

In the case of poultry and hatching eggs, operators, including transporters, shall ensure that containers in which kept poultry and hatching eggs are transported in the means of transport bear the following indications:

(a) for day-old chicks and hatching eggs: (i) the name of the Member State of origin; (ii) the approval or registration number of the establishment of origin; (iii) the species of poultry concerned; (iv) the number of animals or hatching eggs;

(b) for breeding poultry and productive poultry, the approval or registration number of the establishment of origin.

Article 6

Exemptions from the requirements regarding means of transport and containers in which kept terrestrial animals and hatching eggs are transported

The requirements set out in Articles 4 and 5 shall not apply to the transport of:

(a) terrestrial animals kept in travelling circuses and animal acts;

(b) animals of the species listed in Part A of Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2016/429 in numbers exceeding those authorised in accordance with Article 246(1) and (2) of that Regulation, if they are transported for non-commercial purposes;

(c) animals of species listed in Part B of Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2016/429 transported for non-commercial purposes in numbers exceeding those set for those species where rules setting the maximum number of pet animals of the species concerned have been adopted in accordance with Article 246(3).

The competent authority may decide that the requirements set out in Article 4(b) shall not apply to the transport:

(a) within an establishment when (i) the transported animals are kept on the establishment and the transport is carried out by the operator of that establishment; and (ii) the means of transport used for transporting kept terrestrial animals are cleaned and disinfected before leaving the establishment; or

(b) between establishments within the Member State when (i) the establishments belong to the same supply chain; and (ii) the means of transport used for transporting kept terrestrial animals are cleaned and disinfected by the end of each day if animals have been transported in these means of transport.

Section 2

Supplementary requirements for movements of terrestrial animals to other Member States in relation to vaccination

Article 7

Requirements for movements of terrestrial animals and hatching eggs to another Member State in relation to vaccination against category A diseases

In case the Member State of origin has introduced vaccination against a category A disease, operators shall only move terrestrial animals or hatching eggs to another Member State when those animals and hatching eggs fulfil the specific conditions laid down in accordance with Article 47 of Regulation (EU) 2016/429 for the relevant category A disease and animals of listed species for that disease.

Section 3

Additional requirements for operators of slaughterhouses receiving kept terrestrial animals from other Member States

Article 8

Maximum timeframe within which kept ungulates and poultry from other Member States have to be slaughtered

Operators of slaughterhouses shall ensure that kept ungulates and poultry received from another Member State are slaughtered at the latest within 72 hours of arrival at the slaughterhouse.

Article 9

Supplementary risk mitigating measures for operators of slaughterhouses

Operators of slaughterhouses shall ensure that animals of listed species for infection with Bluetongue virus (serotypes 1-24) are slaughtered at the latest within 24 hours of arrival at the slaughterhouse when they come from another Member State and do not fulfil at least one of the following criteria:

(a) they fulfil at least one of the requirements for infection with Bluetongue virus (serotype 1-24) set out in points 1 to 3 of Section 1 of Chapter 2 of Part II of Annex V Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/689; or

(b) they fulfil the conditions referred to in Article 43(2) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/689 that were agreed by the competent authority of the Member State of destination.

CHAPTER 2

Supplementary animal health requirements for movements of kept ungulates to other Member States

Section 1

bovine animals

Article 10

Requirements for movements of kept bovine animals to other Member States

Operators shall only move kept bovine animals to another Member State when the following requirements are fulfilled:

(a) the animals have been continuously resident in the establishment for at least 30 days prior to departure, or since birth, if they are younger than 30 days of age, and during this period they have not been in contact with kept bovine animals of a lower health status or subject to movement restrictions for animal health reasons or with kept animals coming from an establishment which did not fulfil the requirements set out in point (b);

(b) any animals entering the Union from a third country or territory during the last 30 days prior to the departure of the animals referred to in point (a), and introduced into the establishment where those animals were resident, are kept separate so as to prevent direct and indirect contact with all other animals on that establishment;

(c) the animals come from an establishment free from infection with Brucella abortus, B. melitensis and B. suis without vaccination regarding bovine animals, and one of the following conditions is fulfilled: (i) the establishment is situated in a Member State or zone thereof with the status free from infection with Brucella abortus, B. melitensis and B. suis regarding the bovine population; or (ii) the animals have been subjected to a test for infection with Brucella abortus, B. melitensis and B. suis with one of the diagnostic methods provided for in Part 1 of Annex I, carried out, with negative results, on a sample taken during the last 30 days prior to departure, and in the case of post-parturient females taken at least 30 days after parturition; or (iii) the animals are less than 12 months old; or (iv) the animals are castrated;

(d) the animals come from an establishment free from infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (M. bovis, M. caprae and M. tuberculosis), and at least one of the following conditions is fulfilled: (i) the establishment is situated in a Member State or zone thereof with the status free from infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (M. bovis, M. caprae and M. tuberculosis); or (ii) the animals have been subjected to a test for infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (M. bovis, M. caprae and M. tuberculosis) with one of the diagnostic methods provided for in Part 2 of Annex I, carried out, with negative results, during the last 30 days prior to departure; or (iii) the animals are less than 6 weeks old;

(e) the animals come from an establishment in which infection with rabies virus in kept terrestrial animals has not been reported during the last 30 days prior to departure;

(f) the animals come from an establishment situated in an area of at least 150 km radius around that establishment in which infection with epizootic haemorrhagic disease virus: (i) has not been reported in kept animals of listed species for that disease during the last 2 years prior to departure; or (ii) has been reported in kept animals of listed species for that disease during the last 2 years prior to departure but one of the following set of requirements is complied with:

— for at least 60 days prior to the date of movement; or — for at least 28 days prior to the date of movement and have been subjected to a serological test, with negative results, carried out on samples collected at least 28 days following the entry date of the animal into the seasonally disease-free area; or — for at least 14 days prior to the date of movement and have been subjected to a PCR test, with negative results, carried out on samples collected at least 14 days following the entry date of the animal into the seasonally disease-free area; or

— for at least 60 days prior to the date of movement; or — for at least 28 days prior to the date of movement and have been subjected to a serological test, with negative results, carried out on samples collected at least 28 days following the date of the commencement of the period of protection against attacks by vectors; or — for at least 14 days prior to the date of movement and have been subjected to a PCR test, with negative results, carried out on samples collected at least 14 days following the date of commencement of the period of protection against attacks by vectors; or

— they have been vaccinated at least 60 days prior to the date of movement; — they have been vaccinated with an inactivated vaccine and have been subject to a PCR test, with negative results on samples collected at least 14 days after the onset of the immunity set in the specifications of the vaccine.

(g) the animals come from an establishment in which anthrax in ungulates has not been reported during the last 15 days prior to departure;