Welfare of Animals (Transport) Order (Northern Ireland) 1997

Licences and registration

12.—(1) A person shall not transport vertebrate animals by sea or by air or by any other means of transport involving a journey over 50 kilometres except under—

(a) in the case of a transporter established in Northern Ireland, a licence granted under this Article by the Department; or

(b) in the case of a transporter established in Great Britain, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands, a licence to transport animals granted by the appropriate competent authority;

(c) in the case of a transporter established in another member State, an equivalent licence to transport animals granted by the competent authority of the member State of establishment for the purposes of implementing Council Directive 91/628/EEC; or

(d) in the case of a transporter established in a third country, a licence to transport animals granted by the competent authority of a member State of the European Union for the purposes of implementing Council Directive 91/628/EEC.

(2) A licence granted by the Department under this Article—

(a) shall be in writing;

(b) may be general or (after 1st December 1997), specific.

(3) The provisions of Schedule 9 relating to licences shall have effect.

(4) In the case of a transporter established outside the United Kingdom, if the Department is satisfied that serious or repeated infringements have taken place against this Order or against any legislation implementing Council Directive 91/628/EEC in any part of the United Kingdom or in another member State, provided that all the possibilities afforded by mutual recognition referred to in that Directive have been exhausted and after contacts between the parties and the Commission, the Department may, by notice in writing served on the transporter, temporarily prohibit the transporter from transporting vertebrate animals in Northern Ireland.

(5) Any person requiring a specific licence under this Order shall register as a transporter with the Department.

(6) The Department shall keep a register of persons who have been granted a specific licence in accordance with paragraph (5).

(7) A person on whom a notice has been served under this Article shall comply with it.