The Transport of Animals (Cleansing and Disinfection) (England) (No. 3) Order 2003

Statutory Instruments

2003 No. 1724

ANIMALS, ENGLAND

ANIMAL HEALTH

The Transport of Animals (Cleansing and Disinfection) (England) (No. 3) Order 2003

Made

9th July 2003

Coming into force

1st August 2003

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred on her by sections 1, 7, 37, 87(2) and (5) and 88(2) and (4) of the Animal Health Act 1981(1), makes the following Order:

Title, commencement, application and extension of definitions

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Transport of Animals (Cleansing and Disinfection) (England) (No. 3) Order 2003; it applies in England and comes into force on 1st August 2003.

(2) For the purposes of the Animal Health Act 1981 in its application to this Order—

(a) the definitions of animals and poultry in subsections (1) and (4) of section 87 of that Act are extended so as to comprise all mammals except man and all birds; and

(b) the definitions of disease in subsections (1) and (3) of section 88 of that Act are extended so as to comprise all diseases of animals and poultry.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In this Order—

“animal” includes bird;

“means of transport” includes its fittings, its detachable parts and any containers (whether detachable or not) used with it;

“equipment” means any equipment carried with a means of transport for use with animals;

“sale premises” means premises licensed under the Animal Gatherings (England) Order 2003(2) for the purpose of sale; and

“slaughterhouse” means any building, premises or place (other than a farmed game handling facility) for slaughtering animals the flesh of which is intended for sale for human consumption, and includes any place available in connection therewith for the confinement of animals while awaiting slaughter there.

(2) Any notice or approval served under this Order shall be in writing, may be made subject to conditions and may be amended, suspended or revoked in writing at any time.

Cleansing and disinfection in relation to the transport of hoofed animals and poultry

3.—(1) This article shall apply in relation to the transport of—

(a) hoofed animals, other than horses;

(b) racing pigeons; and

(c) the following, if they are reared or kept in captivity for breeding, the production of meat or eggs for consumption or for restocking supplies of game: domestic fowls, turkeys, geese, ducks, guinea-fowls, quails, pigeons, pheasants, partridges and ratites,

and references in this article to “animal” shall be construed accordingly.

(2) In the circumstances set out in Schedule 1, the requirements of article 4 shall apply instead of the requirements of this article.

(3) The user of any means of transport which has been used to transport any animal, or anything which may give rise to a risk of transmission of disease, shall, as soon as reasonably practicable and not more than 24 hours after the journey is completed, ensure that it and any equipment are cleansed and disinfected in accordance with Schedule 2 or (in the case of a container) destroyed.

(4) No person shall use, or cause or permit the use of, any means of transport to transport any animal unless the means of transport and any equipment have been cleansed and disinfected in accordance with Schedule 2 since they were last used to transport any animal, or anything which may give rise to a risk of transmission of disease.

(5) If a means of transport or any equipment has become soiled so that it may give rise to a risk of transmission of disease since last being cleansed and disinfected, no person shall load, or cause or permit to be loaded, any animal into the means of transport unless the soiled parts of the means of transport or the equipment have been again cleansed and disinfected in accordance with paragraphs 1, 3 and 4 of Schedule 2.

(6) Any person transporting animals shall remove any animals that die during transport, and any soiled litter and excreta from the means of transport, as soon as practicable.

Cleansing and disinfection in relation to the transport of other mammals and birds, and hoofed animals and poultry in certain circumstances

4.—(1) This article shall apply in relation to the transport of—

(a) all mammals other than hoofed animals;

(b) all birds not included in article 3; and

(c) animals and birds specified in article 3 in the circumstances specified in Schedule 1,

and references to “animal” in this article shall be construed accordingly.

(2) This article shall not apply in the case of—

(a) transport which is not of a commercial nature;

(b) an individual animal accompanied by a person having responsibility for the animal during transport; or

(c) the transport of pet animals accompanying their owner on a private journey.

(3) Any person transporting, or causing or permitting the transport of, animals where this article applies shall ensure that—

(a) they are loaded on to a means of transport which has been cleansed and, where necessary, disinfected; and

(b) any animals that die during transport, and any soiled litter and excreta are removed as soon as practicable.

(4) Cleansing and disinfection under this article shall be carried out in accordance with paragraphs 1, 3 and 4 of Schedule 2.

Cleansing and disinfection in relation to the transport of horses

5.—(1) Any person transporting, or causing or permitting the transport of, horses shall ensure that—

(a) they are loaded on to a means of transport which has been cleansed and, where necessary, disinfected; and

(b) any horses that die during transport, and any soiled litter and excreta are removed as soon as practicable.

(2) This article shall not apply in the circumstances set out in article 4(2) unless the means of transport was last used to transport an animal to which article 3 applies.

(3) No person shall use, or cause or permit the use of, any means of transport to transport any animal to which article 3 applies unless the means of transport and any equipment have been cleansed and disinfected in accordance with Schedule 2 since they were last used to transport a horse.

(4) Cleansing and disinfection under this article shall be carried out in accordance with paragraphs 1, 3 and 4 of Schedule 2.

Drivers' cabs

6.  Nothing in this Order shall require the use of disinfectant inside the driver’s cab of any means of transport.

Disposal of material after cleansing

7.—(1) The person responsible for cleansing the means of transport and any equipment under this Order shall ensure that all feedingstuffs to which animals have had access, litter, excreta and other material of animal origin, and other contaminants removed from the means of transport are—

(a) destroyed;

(b) treated so as to remove the risk of transmission of disease; or

(c) disposed of so that animals have no access to it.

(2) This article shall not apply to any material required to be disposed of under the Animal By-Products Regulations 2003(3).

Means of transport leaving a slaughterhouse or sale premises

8.—(1) If a means of transport—

(a) has been used to transport any animal to which article 3 applies to a slaughterhouse or to a sale premises; and

(b) is to leave the slaughterhouse or sale premises not carrying any animals and without having been cleansed and disinfected,

the driver shall, before leaving the premises, give a written declaration to the occupier of the slaughterhouse, or the licensee of the sale premises, specifying where the cleansing and disinfection in accordance with article 3(3) shall take place.

(2) The occupier or licensee shall—

(a) supply the driver with the form of declaration which shall be in a form approved by the Secretary of State;

(b) send the completed declarations to the local authority by fax or other means agreed with the local authority on the same day that he receives them; and

(c) keep the original declarations for three months and during that period produce them to an inspector on request.

Powers of inspectors, etc.

9.—(1) Where an inspector is satisfied that a means of transport or any equipment either—

(a) has not been cleansed and disinfected in accordance with this Order; or

(b) needs to be cleansed and disinfected because it may give rise to a risk of transmission of disease,

he may serve a notice on any person appearing to him to be in charge of that means of transport or equipment.

(2) A notice served under the preceding paragraph may—

(a) prohibit the use of the means of transport or the equipment until it has been cleansed and disinfected;

(b) prohibit the keeping of animals on the means of transport until it has been cleansed and disinfected;

(c) require the person on whom the notice is served to cleanse and disinfect the means of transport or the equipment within any period specified in the notice; or

(d) require the person on whom the notice is served to dispose of all feedingstuffs to which animals have had access, litter, excreta and other material of animal origin in the way set out in the notice.

(3) If a notice is served under the preceding paragraph, the cleansing and disinfection shall be carried out in accordance with Schedule 2 unless the notice specifies a different method of cleansing and disinfection.

(4) An inspector may serve a notice on any person who is required to carry out cleansing and disinfection in accordance with articles 3, 4 or 5 requiring him to carry out the cleansing and disinfection as specified in the notice instead of in accordance with Schedule 2 if he is satisfied that this is necessary for animal health purposes.

(5) Where a person fails to comply with a notice served under this article, an inspector may arrange for the provisions of the notice to be complied with at the expense of the person on whom the notice was served.

Enforcement

10.—(1) This Order shall be enforced by the local authority.

(2) The Secretary of State may direct, in relation to cases of a particular description or any particular case, that an enforcement duty imposed on a local authority under this regulation shall be discharged by the Secretary of State and not by the local authority.

Revocations and amendments

11.  The Transport of Animals (Cleansing and Disinfection) (England) (No. 2) Order 2003 is revoked(4).

Ben Bradshaw

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

9th July 2003

Articles 3(2) and 4(1)

SCHEDULE 1 CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH ARTICLE 4 APPLIES TO ANIMALS SPECIFIED IN ARTICLE 3

Journey made within a single farming enterprise

1.  Article 4, rather than article 3, shall apply if the journey is made within a single farming enterprise in one ownership.

Journeys between the same two points

2.—(1) If a means of transport is used exclusively, in the course of a single day, for the transport of animals between the same two points, article 4, rather than article 3, shall apply, except before the first journey and after the last journey of the day.

(2) In this paragraph, the transport of animals takes place in the course of a single day even if—

(a) the last journey is begun but not completed before midnight on the day in question; and

(b) in the case of a hoofed animal which has been participating in an event taking place during, or continuing into, the evening of the day in question, the last journey begins as soon as practicable after the end of that event, whether or not it begins before midnight.

(3) This paragraph shall not apply to journeys between two sets of sale premises.

Journeys to and from livestock shows not in the course of a single day

3.  If a means of transport is used for the transport of animals from their premises of origin to a livestock show and back, and paragraph 2 does not apply, article 4, rather than article 3, shall apply to the means of transport when it is at the show premises provided that—

(a) the means of transport goes directly from the premises of origin to the show;

(b) the means of transport does not leave the show before the return journey;

(c) the only animals on the means of transport while it is at the show are animals that it transported to the show;

(d) the means of transport only transports on the return journey animals that it transported to the show; and

(e) the means of transport returns from the show directly to the premises of origin.

Temporary unloading

4.  Article 4, rather than article 3, shall apply in relation to a means of transport from which animals have been unloaded solely to be fed or watered, or for some other temporary purpose, and then reloaded.

Articles 3(3), (4) and (5), 4(4), 5(4) and 9(3) and (4)

SCHEDULE 2 CLEANSING AND DISINFECTION OF MEANS OF TRANSPORT

Level of cleansing and disinfection

1.  All cleansing and disinfection shall be carried out so as to reduce so far as reasonably practicable the risk of transmission of disease.

Parts of the means of transport required to be cleansed

2.—(1) In the case of animals not transported in a container—

(a) the following shall be cleansed whether or not they are soiled: all the inside surfaces of those parts of the means of transport in which the animals are transported, all parts of the means of transport to which the animals may have had access during the journey; and

(b) the following shall be cleansed if they are soiled—

(i) any detachable fittings not used during the journey;

(ii) any other part of the means of transport; and

(iii) any equipment.

(2) In the case of animals transported in a container, the interior of the container shall be cleansed whether or not it is soiled, and the exterior of the container and any parts of the means of transport carrying the container shall be cleansed if they are soiled.

(3) The wheels, mudguards and wheel arches of the means of transport shall be cleansed whether or not they are soiled and whether or not the animals were transported in a container.

(4) For the purposes of article 3, every part of a means of transport required to be cleansed shall also be disinfected.

Method of cleansing

3.  Cleansing shall be by removing any feedingstuffs to which animals have had access, litter, excreta and other material of animal origin, mud and other contaminants using any appropriate means, and then cleansing with water, steam or where appropriate chemicals or chemical compounds (or, if necessary, any combination of these) until free of dirt.

Method of disinfection

4.  Anything to be disinfected under this Order shall be disinfected after cleansing has been completed, using a disinfectant approved under the Diseases of Animals (Approved Disinfectants) Order 1978(5) at the concentration required under that Order for “General Orders”.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order revokes and replaces the Transport of Animals (Cleansing and Disinfection) (England) (No. 2) Order 2003 (S.I. 2003/1336). It changes the provisions of that Order as follows—

• it provides specific cleansing and disinfection requirements for the transport of horses (article 5);

• it makes special provision where a means of transport leaves a slaughterhouse or sales premises (article 8); and

• it provides for the cleansing and disinfection of the wheels, mudguards and wheel arches of a means of transport (paragraph 2(3) of Schedule 2).

The Order provides for the cleansing and disinfection (in accordance with Schedule 2) of means of transport before and after carrying specified animals (articles 3, 4 and 5, and Schedule 1).

It provides that drivers' cabs are not required to be disinfected (article 6).

Article 7 specifies how the material removed from the means of transport must be disposed of after cleansing.

Article 8 requires drivers to give written declarations specifying where cleansing and disinfection will take place when means of transport (not carrying animals) leave slaughterhouses or sales premises.

Under article 9, an inspector is empowered, in the circumstances set out in that article, to serve a notice requiring a means of transport to be cleansed and disinfected.

The Order is enforced by the local authority (article 10).

Breach of the Order is an offence under section 73 of the Animal Health Act 1981 punishable in accordance with section 75 of that Act.

A regulatory impact assessment has been prepared for this Order and placed in the library of each House of Parliament. Copies can be obtained from Renate Lowres, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 1A Page Street, London SW1P 4PQ.

(1)

1981 c. 22. Functions conferred under the 1981 Act on “the Ministers” (as defined in section 86 of that Act) were transferred, so far as exercisable by the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Wales, to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food by the Transfer of Functions (Agriculture and Food) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/3141) and were then further transferred to the Secretary of State by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Dissolution) Order 2002 (S.I. 2002/794).

(2)

S.I. 2003/1723.

(3)

S.I. 2003/1482.

(4)

S.I. 2003/1336.

(5)

S.I. 1978/32, as amended by S.I. 1994/3141, S.I. 1999/919, S.I. 2000/3195 and, as regards England, S.I. 2001/608 and S.I. 2003/1428.