Brucellosis In Cattle. (General Provisions) Order, 1991

• Jurisdiction: Ireland

S.I. No. 114 of 1991.

BRUCELLOSIS IN CATTLE. (GENERAL PROVISIONS) ORDER, 1991.

I, MICHAEL O'KENNEDY, Minister for Agriculture and Food, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by sections 3 , 12 , 13 , 19 , 20 , 27 and 48 of the Diseases of Animals Act, 1966 (No. 6 of 1966) (as adapted by the Agriculture (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order, 1987 ( S.I. No. 97 of 1987 )), hereby order as follows: 1. (1) This Order may be cited as the Brucellosis in Cattle (General Provisions) Order, 1991.

(2) This Order shall come into operation on the 20th day of May, 1991. 2. In this Order—

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

"animal", except in Article 15 (1) of this Order, means a bovine animal;

"anti-abortion vaccine" means any vaccine intended for use in the vaccination of an animal against brucellosis;

"approved ear-tag" means an ear-tag which is of a pattern approved of by the Minister and which complies with the other requirements of Article 19 of this Order;

"approved laboratory" means a laboratory approved of by the Minister for the purposes of this Order;

"authorised officer" means a person appointed by the Minister in writing to be an authorised officer for the purposes of this Order;

"brucellosis" means brucellosis in cattle;

"dealer" means any person who purchases any animal not for the purpose of keeping it for farming purposes but for the purpose of disposing of it by sale or otherwise but not by slaughter;

"District Veterinary Office" means a district veterinary office of the Department of Agriculture and Food;

"eligible animal" mean any animal aged 12 months or more except a castrate;

"herd" means the animals which are for the time being on a particular holding and in case only one animal is for the time being on a particular holding, the animal shall for the purpose of this Order be regarded as being a herd;

"herdowner" means the owner of a herd to which a herd number is for the time being allocated by an officer of the Minister and where a herd consists of animals belonging to more than one owner they shall nominate the herdowner in respect of the herd;

"holding", means all the land used by an owner of animals, whether solely or jointly with any other person or persons, for farming purposes or used by a dealer for or in connection with an animal purchased or disposed of (by sale or otherwise) by him;

"identity card" means an identity card issued under Article 27 of this Order or issued in respect of an animal by an officer of the Minister before the commencement of this Order;

"the Minister" means the Minister for Agriculture and Food;

"movement permit" means a permit issued under Article 28 of this Order;

"officially brucellosis free"—

( a ) means, in relation to a herd, that the herd is one to which a herd number is for the time being allocated by the Department of Agriculture and Food and one which is not for the time being on a restricted holding,

( b ) means, in relation to an animal, that the animal is of a herd which is both—

(i) an officially brucellosis free herd, and

(ii) for the time being on land which is not comprised in a restricted holding and

( c ) includes—

(i) in relation to Article 15 of this Order, a herd, or

(ii) in relation to Article 17 of this Order, an animal which comes from a herd,

which under the law of Northern Ireland, having regard in particular to the instruments in force in Northern Irland and entitled the Brucellosis Control Order (Northern Ireland) 1972 and the Brucellosis Control and Markets (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 1982 or to any other instrument so in force which revokes and replaces, in whole or in part, or amends the aforesaid instruments, is officially brucellosis free;

"reactor" means an animal which by reason of a test or otherwise a veterinary inspector believes to be, or suspects of being, affected with brucellosis or capable of infecting other animals with brucellosis;

"registered veterinary surgeon" has the same meaning as assigned to it by section 1 of the Veterinary Surgeons Act, 1931 (No. 36 of 1931);

"restricted holding" means a holding as respects which there is for the time being in force a declaration made under Article 7 of this Order;

"sample" means a sample taken from an animal in the course of a test and comprised of one or more of the following—

( a ) in the case of a male animal — blood or semen,

( b ) in the case of a female animal — blood, milk, vaginal mucus, foetus or placenta;

"test" means a test of an animal for brucellosis and includes the taking of a sample;

"veterinary inspector" means a registered veterinary surgeon who is employed wholetime by the Minister. 3. It appearing to the Minister to be necessary for the eradication of brucellosis and the Minister being satisfied that brucellosis is virtually non-existent in the State, for the purposes of such eradication and of the Act the State is hereby declared to be an attested or disease-free area. 4. (1) A person shall not vaccinate an animal with anti-abortion vaccine except with the permission in writing of the Minister.

(2) The Minister may in giving a permission under this Article attach to the permission any condition including a condition that a particular type of vaccine shall be used in the vaccination and that the animal shall be marked by means of an ear-tag or otherwise. 5. (1) A test shall comprise the taking of a sample and the subsequent examination of the sample at, and only at, an approved laboratory.

(2) In addition to those specified in paragraph (1) of this Article, the following provisions shall have effect with regard to a test:

( a ) the taking of a sample shall be carried out by a registered veterinary surgeon or by an officer of the Minister authorised under section 25 (3) of that Act to take a sample;

( b ) where a registered veterinary surgeon, a veterinary inspector or an officer of the Minister authorised under section 25 (3) of the Act to take a sample enters on any land with the intention of thereon taking samples, he may if he so thinks fit, require the owner, occupier or person in charge of the land to make a declaration in writing in the form specified in the First Schedule to this Order;

( c ) the owner, occupier or person in charge of an animal from which a sample is proposed to be or is being taken shall inform the person taking the sample of the existence of any circumstances of which he may be aware, including the previous use or application of anti-abortion vaccine, which may affect the accuracy of the test;

( d ) a person who takes a sample shall make (and shall produce to a veterinary inspector on request) a record with respect to the animal from which the sample is taken and such record shall comprise the following particulars, namely, the name and address of the owner of the animal, the herd number, the premises at which and the date on which the sample was taken, a description of and the sex of the relevant animal, the relevant ear-tag number and such other particulars as the Minister may require;

( e ) a person who takes samples shall forthwith send the sample to an approved laboratory together with the particulars mentioned in subparagraph (d ) of this paragraph;

( f ) the following provisions shall apply in relation to an animal from which a sample is being taken but does not already bear an approved ear-tag—

(i) the person taking the sample shall, at the commencement of the test, attach to the left ear of the animal an approved ear-tag,

(ii) the owner or person in charge of the animal shall permit the attachment of the ear-tag.

(3) Subject to paragraph (4) of this Article, the following provisions (in addition to those specified in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Article) shall have effect in relation to any test carried out by or on behalf of the Minister:

( a ) the owner or person in charge of the herd shall present all eligible animals (other than any reactors from previous tests) in the herd for the taking of such samples as may be necessary to test all such animals in the herd;

( b ) at commencement of the test the owner or person in charge of the animal or animals proposed to be tested shall surrender to the person taking the samples all the identity cards in respect of any eligible animals and female animals aged less than 12 months;

( c ) where the person who takes such samples is notified by a District Veterinary Office that any animal concerned has given a positive reaction to the test, that person shall forward to the District Veterinary Office in the area in which the sample was taken, all the identity cards (if any) surrendered to him in accordance with subparagraph (b) of this paragraph;

( d ) where the person who takes such samples has been notified by a District Veterinary Office that none of the animals tested has given a positive or inconclusive reaction to the test, that person shall endorse each of the identity cards (if any) for eligible animals surrendered to him in accordance with subparagraph (b) of this paragraph with an indication that the animal concerned has passed the test and shall return such cards, when duly endorsed, and any other cards so surrendered to either the owner or the person in charge of the herd;

( e ) where the person who takes such samples has been notified by a District Veterinary Office that none of the animals tested has given a positive result but that the result of the test of an animal or animals has been inconclusive, that person shall—

(i) forward to the District Veterinary Office the identity card of each animal as respects which the result was inconclusive, and

(ii) endorse each of the remaining identity cards for eligible animals (if any) surrendered to him in accordance with subparagraph (b) of this paragraph with an indication that the animal concerned has passed the test and return those cards...