STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS.

S.I. No. 277 of 1999.

BOVINE TUBERCULOSIS (ATTESTATION OF THE STATE AND GENERAL PROVISIONS) ORDER, 1999.

S.I. No. 277 of 1999.

BOVINE TUBERCULOSIS (ATTESTATION OF THE STATE AND GENERAL PROVISIONS) ORDER, 1999.

I, JOE WALSH, Minister for Agriculture and Food, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by sections 3, 13, 14, 19, 20, 27 and 48 of the Diseases of Animals Act, 1966 (No. 6 of 1966) , as adapted by the Agriculture, Food and Forestry (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order, 1997 ( S.I. No. 302 of 1997 ), hereby order as follows:

1. (1) This Order may be cited as the Bovine Tuberculosis (Attestation of the State and General Provisions) Order, 1999.

(2) This Order shall come into operation on 13 September, 1999.

2. (1) In this Order--

“the 1991 Order” means the Brucellosis in Cattle (General Provisions) Order, 1991 ( S.I. No. 114 of 1991 );

“the 1996 Order” means the Bovine Tuberculosis (Attestation of the State and General Provisions) Order, 1996 ( S.I. No. 103 of 1996 );

“the 1999 Regulations” means the European Communities (Identification and Registration of Bovine Animals) Regulations, 1999 ( S.I. No. 276 of 1999 );

“the Act” means the Diseases of Animals Act, 1966 (No. 6 of 1966) ;

“authorised person” means an authorised person within the meaning of the Act, including any person authorised to exercise the powers of an authorised person under section 25, paragraph (3), of the Act;

“the Commission Regulation” means Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2194/98⁽¹⁾ of 12 October, 1998;

“the Council Regulation” means Council Regulation (EC) No. 820/97⁽²⁾ of 21 April, 1997;

“country code” means the code relating to the country concerned as set out in the Annex to Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2629/97⁽³⁾ of 29 December, 1997;

“county code” means the code relating to the county concerned as specified in the First Schedule;

“designator” means the designator issued to a keeper pursuant to Article 3 of this Order which together with the county code makes it possible to identify the holding on which the animal is born;

“ear-tags” means ear-tags used for the purposes of identifying animals as prescribed in this Order unless the contrary intention appears;

“keeper” means any natural or legal person responsible for animals whether on a permanent or temporary basis, including during transportation or at a market;

“Member State” means a Member State of the European Communities;

“the Principal Order” means the Bovine Tuberculosis (Attestation of the State and General Provisions) Order, 1989 ( S.I. No. 308 of 1989 );

“third country” means a country which is not a member of the European Communities.

(2) The Minister for the purposes of this Order shall be the Minister for Agriculture and Food.

(3) In this Order, any reference to a Schedule is to a Schedule to this Order, unless a reference to some other Schedule is intended.

(4) This Order shall be construed as one with the 1996 Order and the Principal Order.

3. The Minister may issue or cause to be issued a designator to a keeper.

4. (1) The Minister may issue ear-tags or cause them to be issued to keepers for the purposes of identifying animals in accordance with this Order.

(2) Ear-tags referred to in paragraph (1) above shall be in the format of the specimen ear-tags set out in the Second Schedule and shall bear--

(a) the country code “IE”;

(b) the county code;

(c) the designator;

(d) an individual number approved by the Minister for the purposes of this Order and allotted to an animal by the keeper identifying the animal under this Order;

(e) the logo in the format set out in the Third Schedule; and

(f) a bar-code.

(3) A person attaching ear-tags to an animal under this Order shall ensure that they--

(a) are attached to the left and right ears of the animal in accordance with the requirements of the Second Schedule, and

(b) bear the same country code, county code, designator, individual number, logo and bar-code referred to in paragraph (2) above.

5. Any requirement in the Principal Order or in the 1991 Order to possess or produce, or for an animal to be accompanied by, an identity card completed in the appropriate manner shall, in the case of an animal which has been, or is required to be, identified under Article 7, 8 or 12 of this Order, or Article 4 of the Council Regulation in the case of an animal imported from another Member State, be construed as a like requirement on a keeper in relation to a passport issued under the 1999 Regulations which relates to the animal concerned.

6. A keeper on whose holding an animal is born shall ensure--

(a) that the ear-tags are attached to the animal in the manner prescribed in Article 4, paragraph (3), of this Order, before it leaves the holding on which it was born and in any event

(i) within 30 days of the birth of an animal born on or before the thirty first day of December 1999, or

(ii) within 20 days of the birth of an animal born on or after the first day of January 2000;

(b) that an appropriate quantity of ear-tags is maintained by him for the purpose of complying with this Order.

7. A keeper on whose holding an animal is born or a person acting on behalf of that keeper shall identify the animal concerned by attaching ear-tags to its left and right ears in accordance with the requirements of Article 6, paragraph (a), of this Order.

8. A keeper on whose holding an animal is born or a person acting on behalf of that keeper shall, in respect of an animal which was born before the coming into operation of this Order, and which has not been previously identified by the attachment of an approved ear-tag within the meaning of the Principal Order or ear-tags under the provisions of the 1996 Order or under the Council Regulation, identify the animal concerned by means of ear-tags attached to its left and right ears before it leaves the holding on which it was born and in any event within 30 days of the date of the coming into operation of this Order.

9. The provisions of Article 6, paragraphs (1) and (2), of the 1996 Order shall not apply in the case of an animal identified or required to be identified in accordance with Article 7 or 8 of this Order.

10. (1) Any requirement in the Principal Order or in the 1991 Order for an approved ear-tag to be attached to or borne by an animal shall, in the case of an animal which has been, or is required to be, identified under Article 7, 8 or 12 of this Order, or under Article 4 of the Council Regulation in the case of an animal imported from another Member State, be construed as a requirement for that animal to be identified by means of ear-tags attached to the animal in accordance with the said Articles or the Council Regulation as appropriate.

(2) The provisions of Article 6, subparagraph (1)(h), of the Principal Order and Article 5, subparagraph (2)(f)(i), of the 1991 Order shall not be applicable in the case of an animal which has already been, and continues to be, identified by means of ear-tags attached to the animal in accordance with--

(a) Article 7, 8 or 12 of this Order, or

(b) the provisions of Article 4 of the Council Regulation in the case of an animal imported from another Member State.

11. (1) Where an ear-tag which had been attached to either the left or right ear of an animal under Article 7, 8 or 12 of this Order becomes illegible or is lost, the keeper to whom that animal belongs or a person acting on behalf of that keeper, shall attach a replacement ear-tag, issued or caused to be issued by the Minister for the purposes of this Order, to the animal as soon as practicable after the illegibility arises or the tag is lost, which bears the identical letters, numbers, logo and bar-code to those on the ear-tags attached to that animal in accordance with the said Articles.

(2) Where an ear-tag which had been attached to either the left or right ear of an animal under Article 6 of the 1996 Order becomes illegible or is lost, the keeper to whom that animal belongs or a person acting on behalf of that keeper, shall attach a replacement ear-tag, issued or caused to be issued by the Minister for the purposes of this Order, to the animal as soon as practicable after the illegibility arises or the tag is lost, which bears the identical letters and numbers to those on the ear-tags attached to that animal in accordance with Article 6 of the 1996 Order and also the logo specified in the Third Schedule.

(3) Where an ear-tag which had been attached to either the left or right ear of an animal under the provisions of Article 4 of the Council Regulation in the case of an animal imported from a Member State becomes illegible or is lost, the keeper to whom that animal belongs or a person acting on behalf of that keeper shall attach a replacement ear-tag, issued or caused to be issued by the Minister for the purposes of this Order, to the animal as soon as practicable after the illegibility arises or the tag is lost, which bears the identical letters and numbers to those on the ear-tags that had been attached to that animal when it was first identified in accordance with the provisions of the Council Regulation.

(4) In the case of replacement ear-tags, a sequence number shall be printed thereon.

12. A keeper shall identify an animal--

(a) imported from a third country in the manner specified in Article 4, paragraph 3, of the Council Regulation using ear-tags issued or caused to be issued by the Minister for that purpose.

(b) intended for intra-community trade in the manner specified and from the dates indicated in Article 4, paragraph 1, of the Council Regulation using ear-tags issued or caused to be issued by the Minister for that purpose.

13. The provisions of Article 8 of the 1996 Order shall not be applicable in the case of an animal to which replacement ear-tags have been attached, or are required to be attached, in accordance with Article 11, paragraph (2), of this Order.

14. A person shall not, except in accordance with a permit issued by an authorised person who is an officer of the Minister--

(a) remove an ear-tag attached to an animal pursuant to this Order, or

(b) replace an ear-tag attached to an animal pursuant to this Order otherwise than in replacement of one which has become illegible or which has been lost in accordance with Article 11 of this Order.

15. (1) No person shall efface, obliterate or alter any ear-tag or attach an ear-tag to an animal which could be confused with an ear-tag attached to or required to be attached to an animal pursuant to this Order.

(2) A person shall not have in his possession--

(a) an ear-tag which could be confused with an ear-tag attached to or required to be attached to an animal pursuant to this Order, or

(b) an animal to which an ear-tag as referred to in subparagraph (a) above is attached.

16. Any person who has possession of ear-tags which may be, but which have not been, attached to an animal under this Order shall--

(a) keep them in a secure place,

(b) on demand by an authorised person at any reasonable time, produce them and allow a record of them to be taken,

(c) where required for the purposes of this Order, the Principal Order or the 1991 Order surrender them to an authorised person or a member of the Garda Síochána on demand made by such member or person, and

(d) not have in his possession more than the appropriate number of ear-tags as determined by the Commission Regulation.

17. An authorised person, veterinary inspector or veterinary surgeon may, for the purposes of this Order, exercise all or any of the powers conferred on such person, inspector or surgeon by the Act, the Principal Order or the 1991 Order.

FIRST SCHEDULE

SECOND SCHEDULE

Specimen ear-tags

THIRD SCHEDULE

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

This Order provides for revised arrangements for the identification of bovine animals by requiring the attachment of specified ear-tags to the animals within 30 days of birth up to 31 December 1999 and within 20 days of birth after 1 January 2000 and, in any event, before they are moved from the holding of birth. It also provides for arrangements for replacement ear-tags and for associated measures relating to cattle identification.

⁽¹⁾ OJ No. L276/4 of 13.10.98.

⁽²⁾ OJ No. L117/1 of 07.05.97.

⁽³⁾ OJ No. L354/19 of 30.12.97.