The Pet Travel Scheme (Pilot Arrangements) (England) (Amendment) Order 2001

Statutory Instruments

2001 No. 6

ANIMALS, ENGLAND

ANIMAL HEALTH

The Pet Travel Scheme (Pilot Arrangements) (England) (Amendment) Order 2001

Made

2nd January 2001

Laid before Parliament

4th January 2001

Coming into force

31st January 2001

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 10 of the Animal Health Act 1981(1), and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, makes the following Order:

Title and commencement E+W+S

1.  This Order may be cited as the Pet Travel Scheme (Pilot Arrangements) (England) (Amendment) Order 2001 and comes into force on 31st January 2001.

Amendments to the Pet Travel Scheme (Pilot Arrangements) (England) Order 1999 E+W+S

2.—(1) The Pet Travel Scheme (Pilot Arrangements) (England) Order 1999(2) shall be amended in accordance with this article.

(2) After article 2 there shall be inserted—

“Application of this Order

2A.— (1) This Order shall apply in relation to animals from countries and territories listed in Part I of Schedule 2 or Schedule 6.

(2) The provisions relating to means of transport, identification, health status, derogations for animals identified outside England and documentation set out in articles 4, 5, 6, 6A and 7 shall apply in relation to animals from countries or territories listed in Part I of Schedule 2.

(3) The provisions of Schedule 6 shall apply in relation to animals from countries or territories listed in Schedule 6 in place of the provisions referred to in paragraph (2).”.

(3) For article 4 there shall be substituted—

“Means of transport

4.— (1) The animal shall be brought into England using a carrier approved under article 8 below, travelling directly from one of the countries or territories in Part I of Schedule 2, without leaving the vessel, aircraft or train in which it is travelling between arrival and departure.

(2) In the event of an aircraft being diverted from its scheduled destination, the carrier shall transport the animal to the scheduled destination at its own expense.”.

(4) For article 6(1) there shall be substituted—

“6.— (1) After it has been microchipped the animal shall—

(a) have been vaccinated against rabies in a country or territory specified in Part I of Schedule 2 or Schedule 6 or in the British Islands or the Republic of Ireland after the age of three months by injection of an inactivated vaccine approved by the competent authority of the country in which the vaccination takes place; and

(b) have had any necessary booster injections in a country or territory specified in Part I of Schedule 2 or Schedule 6 or in the British Islands or the Republic of Ireland at intervals specified by the manufacturer of the vaccine.”.

(5) After article 6(4A) there shall be inserted—

“(4B) In the case of animals coming from Malta or Cyprus, the treatment for ticks must contain fipronil as the active ingredient.”.

(6) For article 6(5) there shall be substituted—

“The animal shall not have been outside the British Islands, the Republic of Ireland or the countries or territories in Part I of Schedule 2 or Schedule 6 for the six month period immediately preceding the date it is brought into England.”.

(7) At the end of article 7(6) there shall be added the words “or Schedule 6”.

(8) After article 7 there shall be inserted the following—

“Rabies-free islands

7A.   The provisions of Schedule 6 (rabies-free islands) shall have effect.”.

(9) Schedule 1 shall be revoked.

(10) In Part I of Schedule 2 there shall be inserted in alphabetical order—

• “Cyprus. Note: the animal may come from any part of the island of Cyprus. All certification must be issued by the government of the Republic of Cyprus”, and

• “Malta”.

(11) Part II of Schedule 2 shall be revoked.

(12) In Schedule 4 the following table shall be substituted for the table of qualifying countries in the Pilot Pet Travel Scheme—

“QUALIFYING COUNTRIES FOR THE PILOT PET TRAVEL SCHEME

(a) For the purpose of this Declaration France includes French Polynesia, Guadeloupe, La Réunion, Martinique, Mayotte, New Caledonia and Wallis and Fortuna but excludes French Guyana, and St. Pierre and Miquelon.
(b) For the purpose of this Declaration Norway excludes Svalbard.
(c) For the purpose of this Declaration Portugal includes the Azores and Madeira.
(d) For the purpose of this Declaration Spain includes the Canary Islands but excludes Ceuta and Melilla.”.
Andorra	Gibraltar	Portugal(c)
Antigua and Barbuda	Greece	Republic of Ireland
Ascension Island	Hawaii	St. Helena
Australia	Iceland	St. Kitts and Nevis
Austria	Italy	St. Vincent
Barbados	Jamaica	San Marino
Belgium	Japan	Singapore
Bermuda	Liechtenstein	Spain(d)
Cayman Islands	Luxembourg	Sweden
The island of Cyprus	Malta	Switzerland
Denmark	Mauritius	United Kingdom, Channel Islands and Isle of Man
Falkland Islands	Monaco	Vanuatu
Fiji	Montserrat	Vatican
Finland	Netherlands
France(a)	New Zealand
Germany	Norway(b)

(13) After Schedule 5 there shall be inserted the Schedule to this Order.

Consequential amendments to the Rabies (Importation of Dogs, Cats and Other Mammals) Order 1974 E+W+S

3.—(1) The Rabies (Importation of Dogs, Cats and Other Mammals) Order 1974(3) shall be amended in accordance with this article.

(2) For article 4(2A)(f) there shall be substituted—

“(f) the animal has not been outside the British Islands, the Republic of Ireland or the countries or territories in Part I of Schedule 2 or Schedule 6 to the Pet Travel Scheme (Pilot Arrangements) (England) Order 1999 for the six month period immediately preceding the date it is brought into England.”.

(3) For article 5A there shall be substituted—

“5A.   If a cat or dog is in quarantine in England, the Minister may grant a licence releasing it if he is satisfied that—

(a) it has been microchipped, vaccinated and blood tested in accordance with the Pet Travel Scheme (Pilot Arrangements) (England) Order 1999,

(b) a sample of blood was taken from the animal at least six months before the release date and tested in accordance with the 1999 Order;

(c) at least twenty four hours before release it has been treated by a veterinary surgeon against Echinococcus multilocularis and ticks, using a veterinary medicine with a marketing authorisation at an appropriate dosage (in the case of treatment against Echinococcus multilocularis the medicine must contain praziquantel as the active ingredient, and in the case of an animal which has been in Cyrpus, Malta or one of the countries or territories in Schedule 6 to the 1999 Order the treatment against ticks must contain fipronil as the active ingredient);

(d) it has not been outside the countries or territories in Schedules 2 or 6 to the 1999 Order in the six months prior to the release date;

(e) in the case of an animal from a country or territory in Schedule 6 to the 1999 Order, it arrived in England in a sealed container with the seal intact. The container must have been sealed by an official authorised by the competent authority of the exporting country, who must have written the number of the seal on the import licence granted by the Minister under article 4(3) and stamped the licence with his official stamp. The number on the seal must be the same as the number on the licence. However, if the Minister is satisfied that the animal was not exposed to risk of infection of rabies during its journey, he may release the animal from quarantine if the provisions relating to sealing are not complied with.”.

Hayman

Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

2nd January 2001

Article 2(13)

SCHEDULE E+W+S

Articles 6(1) and (5), 7(6) and 7A

SCHEDULE 6 E+W+S RABIES-FREE ISLANDS

Extension to rabies-free islands

1.   In addition to the provisions of this Order relating to animals coming from countries or territories in Part I of Schedule 2, pet cats and pet dogs may be brought in from the following countries or territories if the conditions of this Schedule are complied with—

A cat which was resident in Australia before departure must at no time have been on a holding where Hendra virus has been confirmed during the 60 days prior to departure. It must be accompanied by a certificate issued by the Australian Veterinary Authorities confirming this. Cats which pass through Australia on the way to England do not need this certificate provided they do not leave the perimeter of the airport while in Australia.
Antigua and Barbuda	Guadeloupe	New Caledonia
Ascension Island	Hawaii	New Zealand
Australia	Jamaica	St Helena
Barbados	Japan	St Kitts and Nevis
Bermuda	La Réunion	St Vincent
Cayman Islands	Martinique	Singapore
Falkland Islands	Mauritius	Vanuatu
Fiji	Mayotte	Wallis and Fortuna
French Polynesia	Montserrat

Identification

2.— (1) The animal shall be identified by means of a microchip implanted into its body.

(2) If the carrier does not have a reader capable of reading the microchip, the person bringing the animal into England shall provide a reader for the microchip at the time the carrier checks the identity of the animal.

Health status

3.— (1) The animal shall be vaccinated against rabies as specified in article 6(1), and a blood sample from the animal tested in accordance with article 6(2).

(2) The animal shall be treated against ticks and tapeworm in the country of export as specified in article 6(4), except that the treatment for ticks must contain fipronil as the active ingredient.

(3) The animal shall not have been outside the countries or territories in Part I of Schedule 2 or Schedule 6 in the six months prior to departure.

Documentation

4.— (1) The animal must be accompanied by—

(a) a certificate relating to rabies vaccination as specified in article 7, except that the certificate may be signed either by an official veterinary surgeon of one of the countries or territories in Part I of Schedule 2 or by an official veterinary surgeon of one of the countries or territories in this Schedule;

(b) a certificate relating to treatment against Echinococcus multilocularis and ticks as specified in article 7; and

(c) a declaration of where the animal has been in the previous six months as specified in article 7(5).

(2) The person importing the animal must make a written declaration that the animal has not been outside the countries or territories in Part I of Schedule 2 or Schedule 6 in the six months prior to departure.

Means of transport

5.   An animal must be transported to England by air (except an animal from Ascension Island, the Falkland Islands or St Helena, which may be transported by sea) by a carrier approved under article 8 from one of the countries or territories in this Schedule.

Seals

6.— (1) Before transport to England, the container in which the animal is transported shall be sealed by an official authorised by the competent authority of the exporting country with the official seal of that authority. The construction of the cage and the location of the seal shall be such that the cage cannot be opened without breaking the seal. The official applying the seal shall write the number of the seal on the health certificate relating to treatment for Echinococcus multilocularis and ticks, sign it and stamp it with the official stamp of the competent authority.

(2) If, during transport, the official seal is broken, it must be replaced by an official authorised by the competent authority of the country or territory in which the seal is broken with the official seal of that authority, who must certify in writing that, between the time that the original seal was broken and the replacement applied, the animal did not come into contact with any other animals.

Arrival in England by air

7.— (1) On arrival in England, the carrier shall examine the seal on the animal’s container.

(2) If the seal is unbroken (or the container has been re-sealed under paragraph 6(2) and there is a certificate to that effect in accordance with that paragraph accompanying the animal) and its number corresponds to the number of the seal entered on the certificate, the carrier shall check the microchip and the documentation required under paragraph 2 of this Schedule in the manner specified in article 9(1) (and, in the case of a cat from Australia, the certificate relating to the Hendra virus required under paragraph 1 of this Schedule), and shall comply with the provisions of article 9(4) and 9(5)(a).

(3) If the seal is missing or is broken (other than in the circumstances in paragraph 6(2) of this Schedule) or if the number on the seal does not correspond to the number of the seal entered on the certificate, the carrier shall ensure that the animal is taken into quarantine in accordance with article 9(4)(b); but if the Minister is satisfied, after the animal has been taken into quarantine, that the animal was not exposed to risk of infection of rabies during its journey, he may subsequently release the animal from quarantine.

Arrival in England by sea

8.   If an animal is brought in by sea from Ascension Island, the Falkland Islands or St Helena the carrier shall check the microchip and the documentation required by paragraph 2 of this Schedule in the manner specified in article 9(1). If the carrier is satisfied that the documentation is correct and that, throughout the voyage, the animal has had no contact with any other animal, and has not been put ashore at any point, it shall release the animal to its owner or his representative. Otherwise the carrier shall ensure that the animal is taken into quarantine in accordance with article 9(4)(b).

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order amends the Pet Travel Scheme (Pilot Arrangements) (England) Order 1999 so as to extend the scheme to the following—

Antigua and Barbuda	Guadeloupe	Montserrat
Ascension Island	Hawaii	New Caledonia
Australia	Jamaica	New Zealand
Barbados	Japan	St Helena
Bermuda	La Réunion	St Kitts and Nevis
Cayman Islands	Malta	St Vincent
Cyprus	Martinique	Singapore
Falkland Islands	Mauritius	Vanuatu
Fiji	Mayotte	Wallis and Fortuna
French Polynesia

There are additional requirements for these countries, which are specified in the new Schedule 6 to the Order.

In addition, it amends article 4 of the Order so as to remove the requirement for the Minister to approve routes along which animals may be transported.

It makes a consequential amendment to the Rabies (Dogs, Cats and Other Mammals) Order 1974.

A regulatory impact assessment has been prepared in respect of this Order. A copy of it has been placed in the library of each House of Parliament. Further copies can be obtained from the Pets and Quarantine Branch of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, 2nd Floor, 1A Page Street, London SW1P 4PQ. A copy has been published on the Ministry’s website at www.maff.gov.uk/animalh/quarantine/

(1)

1981 c. 22. See section 86(1)(c) for a definition of “the Ministers”. In relation to England, the powers of “the Ministers” were transferred to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food by the Transfer of Functions (Agriculture and Food) Order 1999, S.I. 1999/3141.

(2)

S.I. 1999/3443 as amended by S.I. 2000/1298, S.I. 2000/1564 and S.I. 2000/1641.

(3)

S.I. 1974/2211 as amended by S.I. 1977/361, S.I. 1984/1182, S.I. 1986/2062, S.I. 1994/1716, S.I. 1995/2922, S.I. 1999/3443, S.I. 2000/1298.