Part IV General

20 Outbreaks of disease in other States
1 This regulation shall apply where the Department learns of, or has reasonable grounds to suspect, either under the procedures set out in Article 10 of Council Directive 90/425/EEC or Article 18 of Council Directive 91/496/EEC, or through any other means, the presence in any state outside the United Kingdom of a disease referred to in Schedule 3, a zoonosis or any other disease or phenomenon liable to present a serious threat to public or animal health.
2 In the circumstance described in paragraph (1), the Department may, for the purpose of preventing the introduction or spreading of any such disease or serious threat to animal or public health into or within Northern Ireland, by a declaration to be published in such manner as the Department thinks fit, give notice of the existence in another state of any disease or zoonosis or other cause likely to constitute a serious threat to animal or public health, the area subject to the outbreak, and the types of animal or animal product affected.
3 A declaration made under this regulation may specify conditions under which the animal or animal product which is the subject of the declaration may be imported.
4 Upon a declaration being made under this regulation, the entry into Northern Ireland of any animal or animal product which is the subject of the declaration shall be in breach of the conditions of import in these Regulations unless it complies with the conditions (if any) specified in the declaration.

21 Notification of decisions
1 If the consignor or his representatives, or the importer or his representative, so requests, written notice of any decision taken in pursuance of these Regulations refusing entry or varying the conditions of entry for any animal or animal product shall be forwarded to him by the person taking the decision.
2 A notice forwarded under paragraph (1) shall give the reasons for the decision to which it relates and the details of any right to challenge the decision, including the relevant time limits.

22 Powers of inspectors
1 Subject to regulation 10, an inspector may, on producing, if required to do so, some duly authenticated document showing his authority, at all reasonable hours enter any land or premises for the purposes of ascertaining whether there is or has been on the premises any contravention of these Regulations.
2 An inspector may carry out all checks and examinations necessary for the enforcement of Council Directive 90/425/EEC and Council Directive 91/496/EEC, and in particular may—
(a) carry out inspections of any processes used for the marking and identification of animals, any premises and any installation;
(b) carry out checks on whether staff are complying with the requirements of the Directives or other measures listed in Part I of Schedule 2 relating to animal products;
(c) take samples (and, if necessary, send the samples for laboratory testing) from—
(i) animals held with a view to being sold, put on the market or transported;
(ii) animal products held with a view to being stored or sold, put on the market or transported;
(iii) animals or animal products being transported in the course of intra-Community trade; or
(iv) animals or animal products at the place of destination;
(d) examine documentary or data processing material relevant to the checks carried out under these Regulations; and
(e) take with him a representative of the European Commission acting for the purposes of Council Directives 90/425/EEC or 91/496/EEC.
3 In this regulation “premises” includes any place, installation, road or rail vehicle, ship, vessel, boat, craft, hovercraft or aircraft.

23 Recovery of expenses
The consignor, his representative or the person in charge of any animal or animal product shall be liable for the reasonably incurred expenses of the Department or an inspector arising from any action taken by it or him under these Regulations in relation to that animal or animal product, but shall be entitled, after the deduction of expenses, to the proceeds of any sale of that animal or animal product.

24 Obstruction
1 A person shall not—
(a) intentionally obstruct any person acting in the execution of these Regulations;
(b) without reasonable cause, fail to give to any person acting in the execution of these Regulations any assistance or information which that person may reasonably require of him for the purposes of his functions under these Regulations, or
(c) furnish to any person acting in the execution of these Regulations any information which he knows to be false or misleading.
2 Nothing in paragraph (1)(b) shall be construed as requiring any person to answer any question or give any information if to do so might incriminate him.

25 Penalties
1 A person contravening any provision of these Regulations or any notice served under them shall be guilty of an offence.
2 A person guilty of an offence under regulation 24(1)(a) or (b) shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or to both.
3 A person guilty of any other offence under these Regulations shall be liable—
(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or to imprisonment not exceeding 3 months or to both;
(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both.

26 Disapplication of provisions
The provisions of any instrument listed in column 2 of Schedule 5 shall not apply to imports from a member State of animals and animal products to which a Directive or other measure referred to in Part I of Schedule 2 applies, or to imports of an animal to which a Directive or other measure referred to in Schedule 4 applies from the country subject to that Directive or other measure, to the extent specified in column 3 of the table given in Schedule 5.

27 Amendment of the Sales, Markets and Lairs Order (Northern Ireland) 1975
1 The Sales, Markets and Lairs Order (Northern Ireland) 1975 shall be amended as follows.
S.R. 1975 No. 294 as amended by S.R. 1982 No. 191 and S.R. 1993 No. 371
2 In Article 3 the definitions of the following expressions shall be omitted, that is to say—
(a) “assembly point operator”;
(b) “community instrument”;
(c) “EEC approved assembly point”; and
(d) “EEC approved market”.
3 For Part III there shall be substituted—

“Part III Assembly Centres — Intra-Community Trade

16 Prohibition on sales of cattle, pigs, sheep or goats
1 A person shall not hold, or cause or permit to be held, a public sale of cattle, pigs, sheep or goats intended for intra-Community trade other than in an assembly centre.
2 In this Article and in Article 17 “assembly centre” means an assembly centre approved in accordance with regulation 12 of the Animals and Animal Products (Import and Export) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000.

17 Collection of cattle, pigs, sheep or goats at assembly centres
A person shall not collect, or cause or permit to be collected, cattle, pigs, sheep or goats intended for intra-Community trade other than in an assembly centre.”

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28 Revocations
The following instruments, that is to say—
(a) the Conveyance of Live Poultry (Northern Ireland) (Amendment) Order 1927;
S.R. & O. (N.I.) 1927 No. 97
(b) the Animals and Animal Products (Import and Export) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995;
S.R. 1995 No. 52
(c) the Animals and Animal Products (Import and Export) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997; and
S.R. 1997 No. 87
(d) the Animals (Third Country Imports) (Charges) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997,
S.R. 1997 No. 272
are hereby revoked.