European Communities (Rabbit Meat and Farmed Game Meat) Regulations, 1995

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Year: 1995
• Citation: IR SI 278/1995

I, IVAN YATES, Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972) and for the purpose of giving effect to Council Directive No. 91/495/EEC(1) of 27 November 1990 as amended by Council Directive No. 92/65/EEC(2) of 13 July 1992 and Council Directive No. 92/116/EEC(3) of 17 December 1992, hereby make the following Regulations:
PART I PRELIMINARY
	1 Title and Commencement.	1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Rabbit Meat and Farmed Gamed Meat) Regulations, 1995.
(2) These Regulations shall come into operation on the first day of November, 1995.
	2 Interpretation.	2. (1) In these Regulations, except where the context otherwise requires—
"abattoir" means an abattoir as defined in the Abattoirs Act, 1988 (No. 8 of 1988);
"authorised officer" means a person authorised in writing by the Minister to exercise for the purposes of these Regulations and the Council Directive the powers conferred on an authorised officer by these Regulations;
"auxiliary" has the meaning assigned in Article 2.8 of Annex B to Council Directive No. 92/116/EEC;
"certificate" means a health certificate or any other document issued by an official veterinarian and has the meaning and form assigned to it in the Council Directive;
(1)O.J. No. L268 of 24.9.1991, P.41.
(2)O.J. No. L268 of 14.9.1992, P.54.
(3)O.J. No. L62 of 15.3.1993, P.1.
"the Council Directive" means Council Directive No. 91/495/EEC of 27 November 1990 as amended by Council Directive No. 92/65/EEC of 13 July 1992 and Council Directive No. 92/116/EEC of 17 December 1992;
"Member State" means a Member State of the European Communities;
"the Minister" means the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry;
"official veterinarian" has the meaning assigned in Article 2.7 of Annex B to Directive No. 92/116/EEC;
"premises" includes any land and any buildings, structures or private dwellings;
"third country" means a country which is not a member of the European Communities.
(2) In these Regulations—
( a ) a reference to a Regulation is to a Regulation of these Regulations, unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended;
( b ) a reference to a Schedule is to a Schedule to these Regulations;
( c ) a reference to a paragraph or subparagraph is to the paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs, unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended.
(3) A word or expression that is used in these Regulations and is also used in the Council Directive has, unless the contrary intention appears, the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in the Council Directive.
	3 General Conditions and Exemption.	3. (1) A person shall not produce or cause to be produced, obtain, cut, process, store or place on the market rabbit meat or farmed game meat other than in compliance with these Regulations.
(2) A person shall not use an establishment to produce, obtain, cut, process or store rabbit meat or farmed game meat unless that establishment has been approved by the Minister in accordance with these Regulations.
(3) The requirements of these Regulations and the Council Directive shall not apply to the cutting and storage of farmed game meat in retail shops or in premises adjacent to sales points, where the cutting and storage are performed solely for the purposes of supplying the consumer directly on the spot.
PART II APPROVAL OF RABBIT MEAT ESTABLISHMENTS
	4 Conditions of Approval for Rabbit Meat Establishments.	4. (1) The Minister may, on application, approve an establishment to produce, obtain, process, cut or store rabbit meat provided he is satisfied that such establishment meets the general conditions laid down in Council Directive 71/118/EEC(4) (as amended).
(2) An approval granted under this Regulation shall relate to the owner of the establishment who originally applied for the approval. This approval shall cease in the event of the establishment being sold, ceasing trading or operation, or in the event of the death of the owner or the owner being adjudged bankrupt. Approval will also cease where an incorporated body is for any reason dissolved.
PART III CONDITIONS FOR THE PLACING ON THE MARKET OF RABBIT MEAT
	5 General Conditions.	5. (1) Subject to the provisions of Regulation 7, rabbit meat intended to be placed on the market shall:
( a ) be prepared in an establishment approved by the Minister in accordance with Regulation 4;
( b ) come from animals from farms or areas in which bans have not been imposed for veterinary inspection reasons, within the meaning of Article 3.1. (b) of the Council Directive;
(4) As Amended by Council Directive No. 92/116/EEC — O.J. No. L62 of 15.3.1993, P.1.
( c ) come from animals which have undergone ante-mortem inspection by an official veterinarian or by an auxiliary, such inspection being in accordance with Chapter I of the Schedule and which have been deemed suitable for slaughter following such inspection;
( d ) have been treated under satisfactory hygiene conditions similar to those provided for in Chapter VII to Annex I to Directive 92/116/EEC, except for those in point 43;
( e ) have undergone, in accordance with Chapter II of the Schedule, post-mortem inspection by an official veterinarian or by an auxiliary, and have not shown any change except for traumatic lesions which would have occurred shortly before slaughter or localised malformations or changes provided it is established, to the satisfaction of an official veterinarian or auxiliary and if necessary by appropriate laboratory tests, that these do not render the carcase or offal unfit for human consumption or dangerous to human health;
( f ) bear a health mark in accordance with Chapter III of the Schedule;
( g ) be stored in accordance with Chapter IV of the Schedule after post-mortem inspection under satisfactory hygiene conditions in an establishment or in a store approved by the Minister in accordance with Regulation 4;
( h ) be transported under satisfactory hygiene conditions in accordance with Chapter V of the Schedule;
( i ) in the case of carcases or boned meat, have also been obtained in conditions similar to those provided for in Article 3 of Annex B to Directive 92/116/EEC in establishments approved by the Minister under Regulation 4.
(2) Consignments of rabbit meat being sent to the territory of another Member State shall be accompanied during transportation by a health certificate. The original of the health certificate which shall accompany the fresh rabbit meat during its transport to the consignee. It shall be made available on request by an authorised officer.
(3) Any person who sends or receives a consignment of rabbit meat accompanied by a health certificate, shall retain a copy of that certificate and shall make it available for inspection when requested by an authorised officer, for a period of at least one year after receipt or sending.
(4) An application for a health certificate required for the purposes of compliance with these Regulations shall be made to an official veterinarian and shall be in such form and contain such particulars as the Minister may require and, unless the Minister otherwise agrees, such an application shall be received by the official veterinarian to whom it is made not later than the day, being a day which is not a Saturday, Sunday or a bank or public holiday, preceding the day on which the certificate is required by the applicant.
(5) A person shall not supply false or misleading particulars to an official veterinarian for the purpose of obtaining a health certificate.
	6 Health Marking Conditions.	6. (1) The owner or person in charge of an establishment approved by the Minister under Regulation 4 shall not place on the market rabbit meat unless it bears the public health mark. The health mark shall accord with the requirement of Chapter III of the Schedule.
(2) The procurement, printing or reprinting of labels, wrappers, stamps, seals or marks under this Regulation for use by an approved establishment shall be authorised by the official veterinarian.
	7 Derogations.	7. By way of derogation from Regulation 5, the Minister may authorise:
( a ) the direct supply of rabbit meat by a small producer to a private individual for his own consumption;
( b ) the supply of fresh rabbit meat in small quantities, by farmers who produce rabbits on a small scale:
(i) either directly to the final consumer at those local markets which are closest to their farms;
(ii) or to a retailer with a view to direct sale to the final consumer, provided that such retailer conducts his business in the same locality as that of the producer or in a neighbouring locality.
The said derogation shall not include itinerant sales, mail order sales and, as far as the retailer is concerned, sales on a market, within the meaning of Article 4.1 of the Council Directive.
PART IV APPROVAL OF FARMED GAME MEAT ESTABLISHMENTS
	8 Conditions of Approval for Farmed Game Meat Establishments.	8. (1) The Minister may, on application, approve an establishment to produce, obtain, cut, process or store farmed game meat provided he is satisfied that such establishment meets, as appropriate, the general conditions laid down in Council Directive 71/118/EEC (as amended) or Council Directive 64/433/EEC(5) (as amended).
(2) An approval granted under this Regulation shall relate to the owner of the establishment who originally applied for the approval. This approval shall cease in the event of the establishment being sold, ceasing trading or operation, or in the event of the death of the owner or the owner being adjudged bankrupt. Approval will also cease where an incorporated body is for any reason dissolved.
PART V RULES FOR...