Citation and commencement

1. This Order, which may be cited as the Export of Horses (Veterinary Examination) Order 1966, shall come into operation on 15th June 1966.

Interpretation

2.-(1) In this Order, unless the context otherwise requires-

"the Act" means the Diseases of Animals Act 1950;

"divisional veterinary officer" means the officer appointed for the time being by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to receive notification about the shipment of horses from ports and aerodromes for the area in which is situated the port or aerodrome from which shipment of the horse is to take place;

"horse" includes ass and mule;

"the Minister", in its application to horses shipped or intended to be shipped from England and Wales, means the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and in its corresponding application to Scotland means the Secretary of State;

"shipped" means carried by sea or by air, and "shipment" shall be construed accordingly;

"veterinary inspector" means a veterinary inspector appointed by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

(2) The Interpretation Act 1889 shall apply to the interpretation of this Order as it applies to the interpretation of an Act of Parliament, and as if this Order and the Orders hereby revoked were Acts of Parliament.

Notice requesting veterinary examination for horses to be exported

3. Where any horse is required to be examined under the provisions of section 37(1) of the Act, as adapted to air transport by section 11 of the Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1954 (which as so adapted requires, except in such cases as may be prescribed, any horse shipped from a port or aerodrome in Great Britain to any port or aerodrome outside the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man to be examined by a veterinary inspector immediately before being shipped) the examination shall take place only at a port or aerodrome approved by the Minister, and the person requesting the examination to take place shall give notice in writing to the divisional veterinary officer not later than 2 p.m. on the day before the expected day of shipment, in such form, and together with such information regarding the shipment, as the Minister may require.

Expiry of certificate of examination by a veterinary inspector

4. A certificate of examination by a veterinary inspector issued by him in pursuance of section 37 of the Act shall specify the date and time of the examination and shall cease to be valid for the purposes of that section after the expiry of 18 hours from the time at which the examination was carried out.

Prescription of minimum values of certain categories of horses for the purposes of section 37 of the Act

5. For the purposes of section 37 of the Act, the minimum value of a horse of one of the categories referred to in subsection (3) of the aforesaid section shall be, if the horse is-

(a)a heavy draft horse, £135,

(b)a vanner, mule or jennet, £125,

(c)an ass, £25.

Revocation

6.-(1) The Exportation and Transit of Horses, Asses and Mules Order of 1921(3), as amended.(4), and the Exportation of Horses (Minimum Values) Order 1956(5), are hereby revoked.

(2) Any certificate or licence having effect under the aforesaid Orders or either of them, if in force immediately before the coming into operation of this Order, shall thenceforth have effect under and by virtue of this Article.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Order contains a number of provisions supplementary to section 37 of the Diseases of Animals Act 1950 (which requires horses exported from Great Britain outside the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man to undergo a veterinary examination immediately before export).

The Order lays down the time and manner for making applications for such examinations, and limits the validity of a certificate of satisfactory examination when this is granted to 18 hours from the time of examination.

The Order also increases the amounts prescribed as the minimum values for certain types of horse before their export is permitted.