Diseases of Animals Act , 1966

PART I Preliminary and General

1 Short title and commencement.

1.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Diseases of Animals Act, 1966.

(2) This Act or any specified provision of this Act shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister may by order appoint.

2 Interpretation.

2.—(1) In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires—

“aerodrome” means any area of land (including water) where facilities are afforded for landing and departure of aircraft;

“animal” means an animal of a kind specified in Part I of the First Schedule.

“animal remedy” has the meaning assigned to it in section 2 of the Animal Remedies Act, 1956;

“attested or disease-free area” has the meaning assigned to it in section 19 (1) (b);

“authorised person” has the meaning assigned to it in section 25;

“bird” means a bird of a kind specified in Part II of the First Schedule;

“carcase” means the carcase of an animal or bird and includes part of a carcase, and the meat, bones, hide, blood, skin, pelt, hair, fur, wool, feathers, hooves, horns, offal or other part of an animal or bird, separately or otherwise, or any portion thereof;

“cattle” means bulls, cows, bullocks, heifers and calves;

“Class A disease” means a disease for the time being specified in Class A of Part III of the First Schedule;

“Class B disease” means a disease for the time being specified in Class B of Part III of the First Schedule;

“clearance area” has the meaning assigned to it in section 19 (1) (a);

“disease” means a disease specified in Part III of the First Schedule;

“diseased” means affected with a disease;

“eggs” means the eggs of poultry and includes parts of such eggs;

“fodder” means hay or other substance (including milk) used for food of animals or poultry;

“horned cattle” means cattle bearing horns other than stub or rudimentary horns;

“horse” includes ass and all other equines;

“imported” as applied to animals, poultry and things, means brought by any means into the State from outside the State and “importation” shall be construed accordingly;

“in contact with” in relation to a diseased or suspected animal or bird, means being or having been in the same field, shed, stable, sty, pen or other place, or in the same herd or flock as, or otherwise in contact with, that animal or bird;

“infected place or area” has the meaning assigned to it by section 14;

“inspector” means a person being a veterinary surgeon appointed by the Minister or a local authority to be an inspector for the purposes of this Act;

“landing” in relation to imported animals, poultry, or things, means landing them from a ship, vessel, aircraft, or vehicle, or otherwise introducing them into the State;

“licence” means a licence granted by the Minister;

“litter” means straw or other substance commonly used for bedding or otherwise for or about animals or poultry;

“local authority” means the council of a county or county borough;

“Minister” means the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries;

“order of the Minister” means an order made by the Minister under this Act;

“poultry” means birds of a kind specified in Part II of the First Schedule;

“prescribe” means prescribe by order;

“quarantine station” has the meaning assigned to it by section 31;

“regulation of a local authority” means a regulation made by a local authority under this Act;

“shipping” includes carriage by air and carriage in a vehicle;

“suspected” means suspected of being diseased;

“veterinary surgeon” means any person lawfully qualified to practice veterinary surgery in the State.

(2) In this Act, a reference to a Part, section or Schedule is to a Part, section or Schedule of this Act unless otherwise indicated.

(3) In this Act, a reference to any enactment is to that enactment as amended or extended by any other enactment including this Act.

3 General powers of Minister.

3.—(1) The Minister may make orders, subject and according to the provisions of this Act—

(a) generally, for the due execution of this Act or for the prevention of the spreading of disease;

(b) in particular, for the several purposes specified in this Act, including any matter which under this Act may be prescribed.

(2) The Minister may by order amend or revoke any order under this Act.

4 Laying of orders.

4.—Every order made by the Minister under this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the order is passed by either such House within the next twenty-one days on which that House has sat after the order is laid before it, the order shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

5 Licences.

5.—The Minister may grant licences for any of the purposes of this Act, attach conditions to any such licence, vary such conditions and revoke any such licence.

6 Exemption from stamp duty and fees.

6.—No stamp duty shall be payable, on, and, save as otherwise prescribed, no fee or other charge shall be demanded or made for, any appointment, certificate, declaration, licence or thing under this Act, or for any inspection or other act precedent to the granting, making, or doing of a certificate, declaration, licence, or other thing.

7 Expenses.

7.—The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

8 Disposal of moneys received by Minister.

8.—Moneys received by the Minister under this Act shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister for Finance shall direct.

9 Repeal and transitional provisions.

9.—(1) Each of the enactments set out in the Third Schedule is, subject to subsection (2), hereby repealed to the extent specified in the third column of that Schedule.

(2) Until such time as this Act or any particular provision of this Act comes into operation, the corresponding provisions of the repealed enactments shall remain in force.

(3) Every instrument made or thing done under any repealed enactment shall continue to have effect and, so far as it could have been made or done under this Act, shall have effect as if made or done under the corresponding provision of this Act.

(4) Any document referring to any repealed enactment shall be construed as referring to this Act or the corresponding provision of this Act.

10 Continuance of orders and regulations.

10.—Every order and regulation made under a repealed enactment and in force immediately before the commencement of this Act shall continue in force and may be amended or revoked as if made under this Act.

PART II Control and Eradication of Disease

Application

11 Application of this Act.

11.—(1) Subject to subsection (2), this Act shall apply to the animals, poultry and diseases specified in the First Schedule.

(2) The Minister may, for all or any of the purposes of this Act, by order amend the First Schedule so as to extend the application of this Act or any of its provisions to any other kind of animal, poultry or disease or to exclude any kind of animal, poultry or disease from such application.

Prevention and Eradication

12 Notification of disease.

12.—(1) The Minister may prescribe that notice be given of the existence or suspected existence of any particular disease or illness of animals or poultry, the persons by whom the notice is to be given, and the authority to whom and the manner in which it is to be given.

(2) An order made for the purposes of this section may provide for the payment by the Minister or a local authority of a fee to a veterinary surgeon in respect of each notification of disease by him and may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, specify the amount of such fee.

13 Orders for prevention or checking of disease.

13.—The Minister may, for the purpose of the prevention or checking or eradication of disease, make orders for all or any of the purposes set out in the Second Schedule.

Infected Places and Areas

14 General provisions as to infected places and areas.

14.—(1) The Minister may prescribe—

(a) the cases in which places and areas are to be declared to be infected with a disease;

(b) the authority, mode and conditions by and on which declarations in that behalf are to be made;

(c) the effect and consequences of such declarations;

(d) the duration and discontinuance of such declarations; and

(e) other matters connected with the making of such declarations.

(2) The Minister may by order alter the limits of a place or area declared to be infected by disease.

(3) Every place or area so declared infected shall be an infected place or area for the purposes of this Act.

(4) Where an order is made declaring a place or area to be no longer an infected place or area then from the time specified in the order the place or area shall cease to be, or be in, an infected place or area.

(5) An order or notice of the following description—

(a) an order of the Minister or of a local authority declaring a place to be an infected place or area, or declaring a place or area to be no longer an infected place or area; or

(b) a notice served in pursuance of directions of the Minister or of a local authority by virtue of an order made under this section,

shall be conclusive evidence to all intents of the existence or cessation of the disease and of any other matter whereon the order or notice proceeds.

15 Orders relating to infected places and areas.

15.—The Minister may make orders—

(a) prescribing and regulating the publication, in relation to a place or area declared infected, of the fact of such declaration;

(b) prohibiting or regulating the movement of animals and poultry and persons into, within, or out of an infected place or area;

(c) prescribing and regulating the isolation or separation of animals and poultry being in an infected place or area;

(d) prohibiting or regulating the removal of carcases, eggs, fodder, litter, utensils, pens, hurdles, dung, or other things into, within, or out of an infected place or area;

(e) prescribing and regulating the destruction, burial, disposal, or treatment of carcases, eggs, fodder, litter, utensils, pens, hurdles, dung, or other things, being in an infected place or area, or removed thereout;

(f) prescribing and regulating the cleansing and disinfection of infected places and areas, or parts thereof, and of receptacles or vehicles used for the confinement or conveyance of animals or poultry;

(g) prescribing and regulating the disinfection of the clothes of persons being in an infected place, and the use of precautions against the spreading of disease by such persons.

16 Power to exclude strangers.

16.—A person owning or having charge of animals, poultry or eggs in an infected place or area may affix, at or near the entrance to a building, enclosure or farm in which the animals, or poultry or eggs are, a notice forbidding persons to enter thereon without the permission mentioned in the notice, and thereupon it shall not be lawful for any person, not having by law a right of entry or way into, on or over that building, enclosure or farm, to enter or go into, on, or over it without that permission.

Slaughter

17 Slaughter of diseased animals and compensation.

17.—(1) The Minister may cause to be slaughtered—

(a) any animals or poultry affected with any Class A disease or suspected of being so affected, and

(b) any animals or poultry which are or have been in the same field, shed or other place, or in the same herd or flock or otherwise in contact with animals or birds so affected or suspected of being so affected, or which appear to the Minister to have been in any way exposed to the infection concerned.

(2) The Minister shall, subject to section 58, pay compensation for animals and poultry (other than a dog or a cat affected or suspected of being affected with rabies) which have been slaughtered under this section or which have been directed to be slaughtered but die before they can be slaughtered and also for carcases and eggs (other than eggs of pigeons, doves, peafowl, swans or birds of the species psittaciformes) which, consequent upon an outbreak or suspected outbreak of disease, have been destroyed on behalf of the Minister.

(3) The Minister may reserve for observation, treatment or testing, an animal or bird liable to be slaughtered under this Act at the direction of the Minister but subject to payment of compensation by the Minister as in the case of actual slaughter.

18 General provisions as to disposal of animals, poultry and carcases.

18.—(1) Where an animal or bird has been slaughtered under this Act at the direction of the Minister, the carcase of the animal or bird shall belong to the Minister and shall be buried or sold or otherwise disposed of at the direction of the Minister, as the condition of the animal or bird or carcase and other circumstances may require or admit.

(2) If, in any case, the sum received by the Minister on sale of a carcase under this section exceeds the amount paid for compensation to the owner of the animal or bird slaughtered, the Minister shall pay that excess to the owner, after deducting reasonable expenses.

(3) If the owner of an animal or bird slaughtered under this Act at the direction of the Minister or a local authority, has an insurance on the animal or bird, the amount of compensation awarded to him under this Act or any order made thereunder may be deducted by the insurers from the amount of the money payable under the insurance before they make any payment in respect thereof.

(4) Where an animal or bird has been slaughtered under this Act at the direction of the Minister, the Minister may use for the burial of the carcase any ground in the possession or occupation of the owner of the animal or bird suitable for the purpose, or any common or unenclosed land.

(5) Where an inspector, after making such inquiries as he considers necessary, is satisfied that no such ground as mentioned in subsection (4) is available for the burial of the carcases of slaughtered animals or poultry, the Minister may use for the reception and slaughter of the animals or poultry and the burial of their carcases any convenient ground suitable for the purpose.

(6) (a) Where the owner or occupier of any such ground claims to have suffered loss by reason of such user, he may, within two months after such user, apply in writing to the Minister for compensation.

(b) Where an application for compensation under this subsection is duly made, the application shall be determined in accordance with such order as may be made by the Minister in that regard.

(c) In the event of the applicant disputing any such determination the dispute shall be settled by arbitration.

Clearance, Attested and Disease-Free Areas

19 Clearance, attested and disease-free areas.

19.—The Minister may, where it appears to him to be necessary for the purpose of the eradication of any Class B disease, make in relation to such disease orders—

(a) declaring an area (in this Act referred to as a clearance area) to be an area in which the disease is to be eradicated;

(b) declaring an area as to which the Minister is satisfied that the disease is virtually nonexistent, to be an attested or disease-free area;

(c) prescribing the conditions under which animals or poultry may be exported, and designating ports or aerodromes, or parts of ports or aerodromes, or routes for such export.

20 Orders in relation to clearance, attested and disease-free areas.

20.—The Minister may make, in relation to any clearance area or attested or disease-free area, orders—

(a) as to animals or poultry affected or suspected of being affected or capable of affecting animals or poultry with the relevant disease—

(i) authorising the taking of possession, by agreement, of the animals or poultry on behalf of the Minister;

(ii) in default of agreement, securing and regulating the removal out of the area or slaughter of the animals or poultry;

(iii) securing and regulating the isolation and maintenance of the animals or poultry pending their being taken possession of on behalf of the Minister or removed out of the area or slaughtered;

(b) securing and regulating the isolation and testing from time to time of animals or poultry brought on to land or premises;

(c) the prohibition or restriction of the movement of animals and poultry into, out of, through or within the area;

(d) securing and regulating the keeping of records in relation to animals or poultry and the production and inspection of the records;

(e) specifying forms of notices to be served under orders made by virtue of this section;

(f) providing, in cases in which there has been failure to comply with the requirements of any such notice, for—

(i) in case the notice requires removal out of the area or slaughter of animals or poultry—the taking of possession of the animals or poultry, their disposal as the Minister thinks fit and the recovery (without prejudice to any penalty that may have been incurred) of the cost of taking possession of the animals or poultry and of thereafter maintaining them and disposing of them;

(ii) in any other case—the carrying out of the requirements of the notice by or on behalf of the Minister and the recovery (without prejudice to any penalty which may have been incurred) of the cost of carrying out the requirements;

(g) determining, in the case of holdings situate partly within and partly outside any clearance, attested or disease-free area, or situate wholly or partly within two or more such areas, the area to which such holdings belong;

(h) authorising entry on land or premises for the purposes of any such order;

(i) for purposes ancillary or incidental to any of the foregoing purposes.

21 Regulations as to animal remedies.

21.—Section 7 (1) of the Animal Remedies Act, 1956, shall, notwithstanding subsection (2) of that section, apply to any animal remedy specified in any order of the Minister in relation to any specified Class B disease.

22 Compensation for animals and poultry taken in clearance, attested and disease-free areas.

22.—The Minister shall, subject to section 58, pay compensation for animals and poultry taken possession of on his behalf pursuant to an order under section 20.

23 Slaughter and compensation in other cases.