European Communities (Identification of Bovines) Regulations, 2009

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 77/2009
• Year: 2009

S.I. No. 77 of 2009

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (IDENTIFICATION OF BOVINES) REGULATIONS 2009

ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS

1. Citation and commencement

2. Interpretation

3. Registration of birth and issue of passports

4. Approval of ear-tags, etc.

5. Obligation to tag

6. Attaching ear-tag

7. Replacing ear-tags

8. Tampering with tags, etc.

9. Imports

10. Herd register

11. Possession of bovine, etc.

12. Transfer of bovine

13. Livestock marts

14. Slaughter of bovines

15. Information

16. Appointment of authorised officers

17. Functions of authorised officer

18. Search warrant

19. Notice

20. Obstruction

21. Forgery

22. Service

23. Fees

24. Offences

25. Evidence

26. Fixed payment notice

27. Revocations and savers

S.I. No. 77 of 2009

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (IDENTIFICATION OF BOVINES) REGULATIONS 2009

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 13th March, 2009.

I, BRENDAN SMITH, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), for the purpose of giving full effect to Title I to Regulation (EC) No. 1760/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 July 2000 1 , Commission Regulation (EC) No. 494/1998 of 27 February 1998 2 , Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1082/2003 of 23 June 2003 3 , Commission Regulation (EC) No. 499/2004 4 of 17 March 2004 and Commission Regulation (EC) No. 911/2004 of 29 April 2004 5 , and for the purpose of giving effect to Council Directive (EEC) No. 92/102/EEC6 of 27 November 1992 so far as that Directive relates to the identification of bovines, hereby make the following Regulations:

Citation and commencement

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Identification of Bovines) Regulations 2009 and come into operation on 4 May 2009.

Interpretation

2. (1) In these Regulations—

“authorised officer” means—

(a) an authorised officer within the meaning of section 17A (inserted by the Diseases of Animals (Amendment) Act 2001 (No. 3 of 2001)) of the Diseases of Animals Act 1966 (No. 6 of 1966),

(b) an authorised officer within the meaning of the National Beef Assurance Scheme Act 2000 (No. 2 of 2000),

(c) a member of the Garda Siochána,

(d) an officer of Customs and Excise, or

(e) a person appointed under Regulation 20.

“approved ear-tag” means—

(a) in the case of a bovine born before 31 December 1996, subject to Regulation 7, an ear-tag applied to each ear in accordance with the Bovine Tuberculosis (Attestation of State and General Provisions Amendment Order 2003 ( S.I. No. 32 of 2003 ),

(b) in the case of a bovine born between 1 January 1996 and 31 December 1998, subject to Regulation 7, an ear-tag applied to each ear in the form formerly prescribed by the Bovine Tuberculosis (Attestation of State and General Provisions) Order 1996 ( S.I. No. 103 of 1996 ),

(c) in the case of a bovine born between 1 January 1996 and 31 December 1998 that is not tagged in accordance with paragraph (b) of this definition, a bovine born after 31 December 1998 or a bovine to which Regulation 8 applies, an ear-tag applied to each ear in the form formerly prescribed by the Bovine Tuberculosis (Attestation of State and General Provisions) Order 1999 ( S.I. No. 277 of 1999 ) and now approved under Regulation 6,

(d) in the case of a bovine born after 31 December 1998, an ear-tag, that conforms to the standards established in Chapter I of Commission Regulation (EC) No. 911/2004 of 29 April 2004, applied to each ear in the form approved under Regulation 6,

(e) in the case of a bovine imported from another Member State, an ear-tag, that conforms to the standards established in Chapter I of Commission Regulation (EC) No. 911/2004 of 29 April 2004, attached to each ear in accordance with the Bovine Identification Regulation, or

(f) in the case of a bovine imported from outside the Community, an ear-tag, that conforms to the standards established in Chapter I of Commission Regulation (EC) No. 911/2004 of 29 April 2004, attached to each ear in accordance with the Bovine Identification Regulation.

“Bovine Identification Regulation” means Regulation (EC) No. 1760/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 July 2000;

“cattle identity card” means an identity card issued in accordance with Article 32 of the Bovine Tuberculosis (Attestation of the State and General Provisions) Order, 1989 (S.I. 308 of 1989);

“Minister” means Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food;

“passport” means a record issued by the Minister in accordance with Article 6.1 of the Bovine Identification Regulation;

“permit” means a movement permit issued in accordance with Article 13 of the Bovine Tuberculosis (Attestation of the State and General Provisions) Order 1989 (S.I. 308 of 1989), in accordance with the National Beef Assurance Scheme Act 2000 (No. 2 of 2000) or in accordance with these Regulations;

“premises” includes land (including land under water) with or without buildings.

(2) A word or expression that is used in these Regulations and is also used in the Bovine Identification Regulation has, in these Regulations, the same meaning as it has in the Bovine Identification Regulation.

Registration of birth and issue of passports

3. (1) The keeper shall, within 7 days of tagging a bovine in accordance with Regulation 5, or importing a bovine in accordance with Regulation 9(3), notify the birth or import of the bovine to the Minister.

(2) A notification under paragraph (1) shall be in a form, contain the information (which may include DNA) and be communicated in a manner (including electronic communication) that the Minister may determine.

(3) The Minister may—

(a) issue a passport or cause a passport to be issued in respect of a bovine which is the subject of notification under this Regulation, and

(b) enter details of the bovine on a computerised database (“Animal Identification and Movement (AIM) system”),

if satisfied that the notification is complete, valid and accurate.

(4) If notification under paragraph (1) is made by an agent, it is deemed to be made by the keeper but failure of an agent to notify is not a defence for the keeper in any proceedings.

(5) A passport remains the property of the Minister and shall be produced for inspection or surrendered on request to an authorised officer.

Approval of ear-tags, etc.

4. (1) The Minister may grant approval for the manufacture, sale, supply and use of an ear-tag, attach conditions to the approval, vary a condition, attach a new condition, revoke an approval or refuse an application.

(2) An application for approval of an ear-tag shall be in a form and contain such information and be accompanied by any material (including a sample of the ear-tag subject to the application) that the Minister may require.

(3) An approval issued under this Regulation shall be valid for a period that the Minister may determine.

(4) Notwithstanding the generality of paragraph (1), the Minister shall refuse an application or revoke an approval if, in his or her opinion—

(a) the ear-tag does not conform with Chapter I of Commission Regulation (EC) No. 911/2004 of 29 April 2004, or

(b) the result of a test or experience suggests that the ear-tag is not suitable for or durable in Irish conditions.

Obligation to tag

5. The keeper of a bovine shall, no later than 20 days after birth or before it leaves the holding, identify the bovine with approved ear-tags.

Attaching ear-tag

6. (1) A person shall not attach an ear-tag that may be confused with an approved ear-tag or cause or permit another person to attach an ear-tag to a bovine unless:

(a) it is an approved ear-tag,

(b) an ear-tag is securely attached to each ear of the bovine, and

(c) each ear-tag bears the same logo and sequence of numbers and relates to the premises where the bovine was born or first registered.

(2) A keeper shall maintain sufficient supply of approved ear-tags to meet the tagging requirements for the number of bovines on the premises and store them in a secure place.

(3) A person, other than a manufacturer or supplier of tags, shall not without lawful authority, have in his or her possession or under his or her control, sell, supply, purchase or acquire an approved ear-tag unless it is appropriate to an animal that is on his or her premises or under his or her control.

Replacing ear-tags

7. If an approved ear-tag attached to a bovine is lost or becomes illegible, the keeper of the bovine shall replace it in accordance with Article 1(6) of Commission Regulation (EC) No. 911/2004 of 29 April 2004.

Tampering with tags, etc.

8. (1) A person shall not tamper with, deface or otherwise alter, or interfere with an approved ear-tag and shall not, without lawful authority, have possession or control of an approved ear-tag that has been tampered with, defaced or otherwise altered or interfered with.

(2) A person shall not have possession or control of, sell, supply or acquire an ear-tag which could be confused with an approved ear-tag.

(3) A person shall not have possession or control of, sell, supply or acquire a bovine to which an ear-tag referred to in paragraphs (1) or (2) is attached.

Imports

9. (1) A person shall not import a bovine from another Member State unless it is identified and accompanied by a passport relating to the bovine issued in accordance with the Bovine Identification Regulation.

(2) A person who imports a bovine from another Member State, shall, at time of import, surrender the passport for the purposes of Article 6(1) of the Bovine Identification Regulation.

(3) A person who imports a bovine from a third country shall, no later than 20 days of its arrival and prior to it moving, identify the bovine in accordance with Article 4(3) of the Bovine Identification Regulation.

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