Assembly centres and slaughter houses
12.—(1) Any person operating an assembly centre for the purposes of intra-Community trade in bovine animals, swine, sheep or goats shall do so in accordance with this regulation.
(2) The assembly centre shall be approved by the Department and given a number, and approval shall only be given if the Department is satisfied that the centre complies with the requirements of paragraphs (a) to (d) of Article 11.1 of Council Directive 64/432/EEC.
(3) In the case of cattle or pigs, the operator of the assembly centre shall admit to those premises only animals that are identified and come from herds that are eligible for intra-Community trade.
(4) Where animals are consigned to an approved assembly centre, the operator of the assembly centre shall—
(a)ensure that no animal is admitted unless it complies with Article 3.1 of Council Directive 90/425/EEC; and
(b)record on a register—
(i)in the case of cattle, the name of the owner, the origin, date of entry and exit, number and identification number and the proposed destination;
(ii)in the case of pigs, the registration number of the holding of origin or of the herd of origin and the proposed destination;
(iii)in the case of both cattle and pigs, the registration number of the transporter and the licence number of the lorry delivering or collecting animals from the centre.
and shall preserve the register for a minimum of three years.
(5) Where an animal is consigned to a slaughterhouse under the supervision of an official veterinary surgeon appointed under the provisions of regulation 7 of the Fresh Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997(1) or regulation 8 of the Poultry Meat, Farmed Game Bird Meat and Rabbit Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995(2), the official veterinary surgeon shall ensure that it is not slaughtered unless it complies with Article 3.1 of Council Directive 90/425/EEC.
(6) An official veterinary surgeon may carry out an inspection for the purposes of paragraph (5), and, if in so doing, he establishes that an animal imported from a member State is accompanied by incorrect documentation or cannot readily be identified, he shall examine the animal and shall either—
(a)certify that it is fit to be slaughtered and used for its intended purpose; or
(b)by notice in writing require the animal to be slaughtered and destroyed or to be re-exported, in each case at the expense of the importer.
(7) Where any person markets any animal consigned to him from a member State, or divides up batches of such animals for distribution or marketing, and paragraphs (4) and (5) do not apply in relation to such animals, that person—
(a)shall check, before any animal is marketed or any batch is divided up that all the animals comply with the relevant provisions of the Directives or other measures listed in Part I of Schedule 2, with respect to identification marks and required consignment documentation;
(b)shall immediately notify any irregularity or anomaly in any such identification mark or required consignment documentation to the Department; and
(c)if there is a breach of Article 3.1.d of Council Directive 90/425/EEC in relation to any such animal, shall isolate the animal in question until the Department has either—
(i)authorised its release in writing; or
(ii)served a notice under regulation 13(2) in relation to it.