The Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations revoke and remake with amendments the Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008 as amended. These Regulations implement Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (O.J. No. L 147, 31.5.2001, p.1) as amended (“the EU TSE Regulation”).

They also implement—

(a) Commission Decision 2007/411 prohibiting the placing on the market of products derived from bovine animals born or reared within the United Kingdom before 1st August 1996 for any purpose and exempting such animals from certain control and eradication measures laid down in Regulation (EC) No. 999/2001 and repealing Decision 2005/598 (O.J. No. L 155, 15.6.2007, p.74);

(b) Commission Decision 2009/719 authorising certain Member States to revise their annual BSE monitoring programme (O.J. No. L 256,29.9.2009, p.35);

(c) Commission Regulations (EC) No. 956/2008 (O.J. No. L 260, 03.9.2008, p.8) and No. 163/2009 (O.J. No. L 55, 27.2.2009, p.17) amending Annex IV to the EU TSE Regulation; and

(d) Commission Regulation (EC) No. 103/2008 (O.J. No. L 34, 4.2.2009, p.11) amending Annexes VII and IX to the EU TSE Regulation.

The main Regulations

The Regulations provide that the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (“the Department”) is the competent authority for the purposes of the EU TSE Regulation (except in Schedule 7 and paragraphs 1, 3, and 4 of Schedule 8, where the competent authority is the Food Standards Agency) (regulation 3) and provide an exception for research (regulation 4).

The provisions in Part II introduce Schedules 2 to 8.

Part III deals with administration and enforcement.

Regulations 6 to 10 deal with approvals, authorisations, licences and registrations, occupier’s duties, suspension, amendment and revocations of approvals, etc. and an appeals procedure.

Regulation 11 deals with valuations.

Regulations 12 to 14 give powers to the Department and the Food Standards Agency to appoint inspectors, and deal with powers of entry and powers of inspectors. Regulation 15 provides for a notice procedure, and regulation 16 provides for licences permitting movement during a movement restriction.

Regulations 17 and 18 deal with obstruction of an inspector and penalties. A person guilty of an offence under these Regulations is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or to imprisonment for a term of three months or both, or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or both.

Regulation 19 details who is responsible for enforcing these Regulations.

Regulation 20 amends the Animals By-Products (Identification) Regulations 1999 by substituting a new regulation 3(3).

Regulation 21 details consequential amendments to the Feeding Stuffs Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 and the Official Feed and Food Controls Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009.

Regulation 22 revokes the Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008, and the Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009.

Schedule 1

Schedule 1 sets out those EU instruments to which any reference should be construed as to those instruments as amended from time to time.

Schedule 2

Schedule 2 Part I deals with monitoring for TSEs. Paragraph 1 provides for notification to the Department of the death of a goat aged 18 months or over for the purpose of monitoring under Article 6 of the EU TSE Regulation. Paragraph 2 deals with arrangements in respect of the body of a bovine animal for the purpose of monitoring under Article 6 of the EU TSE Regulation. Paragraphs 3 and 4 deal with the collection and delivery and sampling of bodies of bovine animals for the purposes of monitoring under Article 6 of the EU TSE Regulations. Paragraph 5 makes it an offence to destroy the body of a bovine animal to which paragraph 2 applies before it has been sampled. Paragraph 6 deals with the retention and disposal of the body of a bovine animal pending test results in accordance with the EU TSE Regulation. Paragraph 7 provides that paragraphs 1 and 2 do not apply to Rathlin Island or the Copeland Islands. Paragraph 8 makes it an offence to consign an over-age animal to a slaughterhouse that slaughters animals for human consumption or to slaughter such an animal for human consumption in a slaughterhouse. Paragraphs 9 and 10 provide for brain stem sampling of specified bovine animals at slaughterhouses and other places of slaughter. Paragraph 11 provides that the Department may approve laboratories to test samples for TSEs.

Paragraph 12 deals with the applications for approval as a TSE sampling site.

Paragraph 13 creates a requirement for the occupier of a slaughterhouse slaughtering bovine animals for human consumption, which are required to be tested for BSE to have a Required Method of Operation (RMOP).

Paragraph 14 provides for retention of products and their disposal, paragraph 15 provides for TSE sampling in sheep, goats and deer and paragraph 16 deals with compensation.

Schedule 2 Part II, paragraphs 1 to 7 specify the contents that must appear in a Required Method of Operation (RMOP).

Schedule 3

Schedule 3 deals with control and eradication of TSEs in bovine animals. Paragraph 1 provides for notification of a suspect animal to the Department. Paragraphs 2 and 3 provide for the restriction and slaughter of suspect animals. Paragraph 4 deals with the offspring and cohorts of the suspect. Paragraph 5 deals with action following confirmation of TSE. Paragraph 6 deals with action where TSE is not confirmed. Paragraph 7 provides for the notification and restriction of the carcases of animals that die or are killed while under restriction, and paragraph 8 prohibits the placing on the market of offspring.

Paragraphs 9 to 16 deal with compensation.

Schedule 4

Schedule 4 deals with control and eradication of TSEs in sheep and goats. Paragraph 1 provides for notification of a suspect animal to the Department. Paragraphs 2 and 3 provide for the restriction and slaughter of the suspect. Paragraphs 4 and 5 deal with movement restrictions. Paragraphs 6 to 10 provide for action following confirmation. Paragraph 11 deals with derogations from the usual requirement of paragraphs 6 to 10. Paragraph 12 provides for time for appeals, and paragraph 13 provides for killing and destruction. Paragraphs 14 to 16 deal with infected animals from another premises, common grazing and multiple flocks on a premises. Paragraph 17 deals with subsequent occupiers of the land.

Paragraphs 18 to 20 set out the procedure to be followed after the killing or destruction. Paragraph 18 restricts the introduction of animals onto a premises. Paragraph 19 regulates the use of ovine germinal products, and paragraph 20 restricts the movement of animals from a premises.

Paragraph 21 specifies when the time relating to restrictions begins. Paragraph 22 provides for notification of animals that die while under restriction. Paragraph 23 deals with placing on the market of progeny, semen, embryo and ovum of animals that are either suspected or confirmed with a TSE. Paragraphs 24 to 26 deal with compensation.

Schedule 5

Schedule 5 deals with animals that are not bovine, ovine, or caprine. Paragraphs 1 to 3 concern notification, restriction and slaughter of suspect animals. Paragraph 4 provides for compensation.

Schedule 6

Schedule 6 deals with feedingstuffs. Paragraphs 1 to 3 of Part I prohibit feeding specified feedingstuffs to ruminant and non-ruminant animals, and provide for exceptions. Paragraphs 4 and 5 of Part I provide for movement restrictions and slaughter of animals suspected of having been fed prohibited feedingstuffs, and paragraph 6 of Part I provides for compensation. Paragraph 7 of Part I prohibits the slaughter for human consumption of restricted animals.

Paragraphs 1 to 3 of Part II regulate the production and use of fishmeal for feeding to non-ruminant farmed animals and unweaned ruminant farmed animals. Paragraphs 4 and 5 of Part II regulate feedingstuffs containing dicalcium phosphate or tricalcium phosphate. Paragraphs 6 and 7 of Part II regulate feedingstuffs containing blood products and blood meal.

Paragraph 8 of Part II makes provision for changes in use of equipment. Paragraphs 9 and 10 of Part II control the manufacture, storage and transport of processed animal protein and products containing it. Paragraph 11 of Part II controls exports, and paragraph 12 of Part II regulates fertilisers derived from animal protein. Paragraph 13 of Part II deals with records, and paragraph 14 of Part II deals with cross-contamination.

Schedule 7

Schedule 7 deals with specified risk material, mechanically separated meat and slaughtering techniques. Paragraph 1 appoints the Food Standards Agency as the competent authority for this Schedule. Paragraph 2 makes provision for training of staff in slaughterhouses and cutting plants where specified risk material is removed.

Paragraph 3 deals with mechanically separated meat, paragraph 4 with pithing, paragraph 5 with tongue harvesting and paragraph 6 with head meat harvesting.

Paragraph 7 controls the removal of specified risk material. Paragraph 8 deals with bovine animals in a slaughterhouse and paragraph 9 deals with sheep and goats in a slaughterhouse.

Paragraph 10 deals with bovine animals, sheep and goats at other places of slaughter.

Paragraph 11 deals with young lamb and goat stamps.

Paragraph 12 deals with the removal of spinal cord from sheep and goats.

Paragraph 13 provides for the authorisation of cutting plants to remove certain specified risk material and paragraph 14 controls the removal of specified risk material at a cutting plant authorised under paragraph 13(1).

Paragraph 15 deals with meat from a member State.

Paragraph 16 requires the staining and disposal of specified risk material, paragraph 17 provides for the security of specified risk material. Paragraph 18 prohibits the supply of specified risk material for human consumption.

Schedule 8

Schedule 8 deals with the restrictions on placing on the market or export of live bovine animals and products derived from them to a member State and to third countries. Paragraph 1 prohibits the placing on the market or export to third countries of certain bovine products derived from animals born or reared within the United Kingdom before 1st August 1996. Paragraph 2 prohibits the placing on the market or export to third countries of certain live animals. Paragraph 3 prohibits the export of heads and un-split carcases containing specified risk material to a member State. Paragraph 4 prohibits the export of heads and meat of bovine, ovine or caprine animals containing specified risk material to third countries. Paragraph 5 provides cross references to other relevant offence provisions in these Regulations.

A regulatory impact assessment has been prepared and placed in the library of the Assembly. Copies can be obtained from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, TSE Branch, Room 722, Dundonald House, Stormont Estate, Upper Newtownards Road, Belfast, BT4 3SB. Tel [phone].