The Testing of Poultry Flocks Order 1989

Made: 15th March 1989

Coming into force: 16th March 1989

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Secretary of State for Wales, acting jointly, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by sections 1, 72, 86 and 87(5)(b) of the Animal Health Act 1981[^f00001] and of all other powers enabling them in that behalf, hereby make the following Order:

Title and commencement

1

This Order may be cited as the Testing of Poultry Flocks Order 1989 and shall come into force on 16th March 1989.

Interpretation

2

In this Order–

• “the Act” means the Animal Health Act 1981;

• “appropriate Minister” means, in relation to England, the Minister, and in relation to Scotland or to Wales, the Secretary of State;

• “chick box liner” means any material used to line a box or other container in which chicks are transported from a hatchery to any rearing premises;

• “inspector” means a person appointed to be an inspector for the purposes of the Act by the Minister or by a local authority and, when used in relation to an officer of the Minister, includes a veterinary inspector;

• “laboratory” means any laboratory which has the necessary facilities and personnel for carrying out, and is willing to carry out, tests on samples mentioned in Part I of the Schedule to this Order in accordance with the provisions of Part II of that Schedule;

• “the Minister” means the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food;

• “poultry” means domestic fowls of any age;

• “poultry flock” means any flock of poultry consisting of– not less than 25 birds which are kept for the production of eggs for human consumption or breeding (including birds which are being reared to produce eggs for either of those purposes); or less than 25 birds the eggs of which are sold for human consumption; “rearing premises” means any premises on which 25 or more birds are being reared at any time for the production of eggs for human consumption or breeding;

• “veterinary inspector” means a veterinary inspector appointed by the Minister.

Taking of samples from poultry flocks for testing

3

It shall be the duty of the owner or person in charge of a poultry flock to ensure that–

• (a) samples are taken in respect of the flock in such manner as is specified in Part I of the Schedule to this Order and at such times as are so specified; and

• (b) such samples are submitted, within 24 hours of being taken, to a laboratory for testing for the presence of salmonella in accordance with the bacteriological method set out in Part II of that Schedule.

Testing of samples from poultry flocks and reporting of results of tests

4

• (1) It shall be the duty of the person in charge of a laboratory to which a sample has been submitted under article 3(b) above to ensure that–

• (a) the sample is tested for the presence of salmonella in accordance with the bacteriological method set out in Part II of the Schedule to this Order; and

• (b) the result of such a test is reported in writing as soon as practicable to the person who submitted the sample.

• (2) If a person to whom a report is made under article 4(1)(b) above is not the owner or person in charge of the flock in respect of which the sample was taken, he shall immediately pass that report to the owner or person in charge of that flock.

Keeping of records

5

The owner or person in charge of a poultry flock shall–

• (a) make a record of the result of any test carried out in accordance with article 3(b) above as soon as practicable after he has received a report of such result in accordance with article 4 above;

• (b) retain such record for a period of 3 years from the date of the test; and

• (c) produce such record to an inspector or officer of the appropriate Minister on demand being made by such person at any reasonable time during that period and allow a copy of it or an extract from it to be taken.

Offences

6

Any person who, without lawful authority or excuse, proof of which shall lie on him, contravenes or fails to comply with any provision of this Order commits an offence against the Act.

Local authority to enforce Order

7

The provisions of this Order shall, except where otherwise expressly provided, be executed and enforced by the local authority.

SCHEDULE

PART I — samples to be taken

1

Except as otherwise provided in paragraph 2 below, the number of samples to be taken shall be as follows:–

2

The samples to be taken shall comprise:–

• (a) all chick box liners, up to a maximum of 10, from each consignment of chicks delivered to any rearing premises on any day, such samples to be taken on the day of the arrival of the chicks there;

• (b) the carcases of all chicks, up to a maximum of 60, which are dead on arrival at any rearing premises and which die within 4 days of their arrival there;

• (c) the carcases of all birds which die or are slaughtered when between 3 and 5 weeks of age, up to a maximum of 60;

• (d) cloacal swabs taken (at the rate of one swab from each bird) from birds which have attained 4 weeks of age, such swabs being taken within 1 week of the birds attaining that age;

• (e) cloacal swabs taken (at the rate of one swab from each bird) from birds which have attained 14 weeks of age, such swabs being taken within 1 week of the birds attaining that age;

• (f) cloacal swabs taken (at the rate of one swab from each bird) within 1 week of the birds attaining 22, 26 and 30 weeks of age and at 8 week intervals thereafter, and

• (g) the carcases of five birds (or of any such smaller number that there may be) which have died or been slaughtered when between 26 and 30 weeks of age.

3

The samples shall be identified in such a manner as to enable the laboratory to which they are submitted to know the age of the birds to which they relate.

PART II — bacteriological method

Samples submitted for testing for the presence of salmonella shall be examined in the following prescribed manner on consecutive days and, where a laboratory at which samples have been received for testing on any day is unable to commence such an examination on that day, the samples shall be stored in a refrigerator until required for examination.

Day 1

Samples of similar organs taken from the carcases of birds submitted shall then be bulked up to a maximum of 10 grams and placed into 100 ml Selenite F broth.

• The inoculated Selenite F broth shall then be incubated at 37°C for 18–24 hours.

Day 2

The Selenite F broth shall be plated out on to two plates of Brilliant Green Agar (“BGA”)(b) using a 2.5 mm diameter loop. The BGA plates shall be inoculated by a droplet taken from the edge of the surface of the fluid by drawing the loop over the whole of one plate in a zigzag pattern and continuing to the second plate without recharging the loop. The space between the loop streaks shall be 0.5 cm–1.0 cm. The plates shall be incubated at 37°C for 18–24 hours.

Day 3

The plates of BGA shall be examined and a minimum of 3 colonies from the plates showing suspicion of salmonella growth shall be subcultured on to a blood agar plate and a MacConkey agar plate and into biochemical composite media or equivalent. These media shall be incubated at 37°C overnight.

Day 4

The incubated plates and composite media or equivalent shall be examined and the findings recorded, discarding cultures which are obviously not salmonella. Slide serological tests shall be performed using salmonella polyvalent “O” and polyvalent “H” (phase 1 and 2) agglutinating sera on selected suspect colonies collected from the blood agar or MacConkey plates. If reactions occur with one or both sera, the colonies shall be typed by slide serology and a subculture sent to the Lasswade Veterinary Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food situated at Penicuik, Midlothian (if the laboratory carrying out the test is in Scotland) or to a Veterinary Investigation Centre of that Ministry (if the laboratory carrying out the test is in England or Wales).

• (a) Selenite F broth—Liefson (1936) (commercially available as Oxoid CH 395 and L121, Lab M44a and 44b or equivalent)

Signed

In Witness whereof the Official Seal of the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is hereunto affixed on 12th March 1989.

John MacGregor — Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

Sanderson of Bowden — Minister of State, Scottish Office — 13th March 1989

Peter Walker — Secretary of State for Wales — 15th March 1989

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order requires the owner or person in charge of a poultry flock to ensure that samples are taken in respect of the flock and are submitted to a laboratory for testing for the presence of salmonella (article 3 and Schedule). The Order also requires such an owner or person in charge to keep records of all such tests (article 5).

The Order also requires the person in charge of a laboratory to which any such sample has been submitted for testing to ensure that the test is carried out in the required manner and that the result of the test is reported to the person who submitted the sample and who, if he is not the owner or person in charge of the flock in respect of which the sample was taken, is required to pass the report to the owner or person in charge of the flock (article 4).

“Poultry flock” for the purposes of this Order means any flock of poultry consisting of not less than 25 birds which are kept for the production of eggs for human consumption or breeding (including birds which are being reared to produce eggs for either of those purposes) and any flock of poultry consisting of less than 25 birds the eggs of which are sold for human consumption (article 2).

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 1981 c. 22; as applied by S.I. 1989/285; section 86(1) contains a definition of “the Ministers” relevant to the exercise of the statutory powers under which this Order is made.