The Cattle Identification Regulations 2007

PART 1 Introduction

Title, application and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Cattle Identification Regulations 2007; they apply in England and come into force on 6th April 2007.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations—

“cattle” means bovine animals, including bison and buffalo;

“cattle passport” means—

(a)

a cattle passport issued in England, Wales or Scotland under Article 6(1) of Regulation (EC) No. 1760/2000;

(b)

a cattle passport issued under the Cattle Passports Order 1996(1); or

(c)

a movement document issued under the Cattle (Identification of Older Animals) (England) Regulations 2000(2) or the equivalent measure in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland;

“holding” means any establishment, construction or, in the case of an open-air farm, any place in which cattle are held, kept or handled;

“inspector” means a person appointed to be an inspector for the purposes of these Regulations by the Secretary of State or a local authority;

“keeper” means any person responsible for animals, whether on a permanent or temporary basis, including during transportation or at a market;

“local authority” means—

(a)

where there is only one principal council, that council;

(b)

in the City of London and in all London boroughs in relation to imported animals, the Common Council; otherwise

(c)

the county council.

“previous cattle tagging legislation” means—

(a)

the Cattle Identification Regulations 1998(3);

(b)

the Bovine Animals (Records, Identification and Movement) Order 1995(4);

(c)

the Bovine Animals (Identification, Marking and Breeding Records) Order 1990(5);

(d)

the Tuberculosis (England and Wales) Order 1984(6); and

(e)

the Tuberculosis (Scotland) Order 1984(7);

“Regulation (EC) No. 1760/2000” means Regulation (EC) No. 1760/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council (establishing a system for the identification and registration of bovine animals and regarding the labelling of beef products and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No. 820/97(8));

“valid”, in relation to a cattle passport, means a cattle passport that has been correctly completed and signed in the appropriate place by each keeper of the animal and where the identification number and description of the animal in the passport correlate to the ear tags and the animal.

(2) Any approval, authorisation, licence, notice or registration issued under—

(a) these Regulations,

(b) Regulation (EC) No. 1760/2000;

(c) Commission Regulation (EC) No. 911/2004 (implementing Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards ear tags, passports and holding registers(9)); or

(d) Commission Regulation (EC) No. 644/2005 (authorising a special identification system for bovine animals kept for cultural and historical purposes on approved premises as provided for in Regulation (EC) No. 1760/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10)),

must be in writing, may be made subject to conditions and may be amended or revoked by notice in writing at any time.

PART 2 Notification of holding

Notification of holdings

3.—(1) An occupier of a holding who begins to keep cattle on that holding, and any person who takes over the occupation of a holding where cattle are kept, must notify the Secretary of State within one month of—

(a) his name and address; and

(b) the address of the holding.

(2) When he receives notification under paragraph (1) the Secretary of State must issue a herdmark for each holding.

(3) The occupier must notify the Secretary of State of any change to the information in paragraph (1) within one month.

PART 3 Identification and registration of cattle

Ear tags

4.  Schedule 1 (ear tags) has effect.

Registration of cattle

5.  Schedule 2 (registration of cattle) has effect.

Cattle passports

6.  Schedule 3 (cattle passports) has effect.

Notification of movements or death

7.  Schedule 4 (notification of movements or death) has effect.

Records

8.  Schedule 5 (records) has effect.

PART 4 General

Charging for information

9.  The Secretary of State may make a reasonable charge for providing information that is stored in the database required by Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No. 1760/2000 and provided in accordance with the second paragraph of Article 3 of that Regulation.

Powers of inspectors

10.—(1) An inspector may, on producing a duly authenticated document showing his authority, if required, at all reasonable hours enter any land or premises for the purposes of ascertaining whether there is or has been any contravention of—

(a) these Regulations;

(b) Title I of Regulation (EC) No. 1760/2000;

(c) Commission Regulation (EC) No. 494/98 (laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No. 820/97 as regards the application of minimum administrative sanctions in the framework of the system for the identification and registration of bovine animals(11));

(d) Commission Regulation (EC) No. 509/1999 (concerning an extension of the maximum period laid down for the application of ear tags to bison(12));

(e) Commission Regulation (EC) No. 911/2004; and

(f) Commission Regulation (EC) No. 644/2005,

and in this regulation “premises” includes any place, installation, vehicle, ship, vessel, boat, craft, hovercraft or aircraft.

(2) The power to enter premises only includes a power to enter domestic premises if they are being used in connection with the provisions in paragraph (1).

(3) An inspector may carry out all checks and examinations necessary for the enforcement of the provisions in paragraph (1), and in particular may—

(a) collect, pen and inspect any cattle, and may require the keeper to arrange for the collection, penning and securing of cattle;

(b) take samples;

(c) examine any records in whatever form, and take copies of those records;

(d) remove and retain any records or documents (including passports) relating to these Regulations;

(e) have access to, and inspect and check the operation of, any computer and any associated apparatus or material that is or has been used in connection with records, and may require any person having charge of, or otherwise concerned with the operation of, the computer, apparatus or material to afford him such assistance as he may reasonably require;

(f) where records are kept by means of a computer, require the records to be produced in a form in which they may be taken away;

(g) require production of any unused ear tags and record their numbers; and

(h) take with him a representative of the European Commission or any other person he considers necessary.

Powers to restrict movements

11.  In accordance with the second paragraph of Article 22(1) of Regulation (EC) No. 1760/2000, an officer of the Secretary of State may serve a notice on a keeper of animals on a holding restricting the movement of cattle to or from the holding if he is satisfied that this is necessary for the proper enforcement of that Regulation, these Regulations, Commission Regulation (EC) No. 494/98, No. 509/1999, No. 911/2004 or No. 644/2005, and any person who fails to comply with that notice is guilty of an offence.

Slaughter of unmarked animals

12.  The Secretary of State is the veterinary authority and the competent authority for the purposes of Article 1(2) of Commission Regulation (EC) No. 494/98.

Obstruction etc.

13.—(1) A person who—

(a) obstructs any person acting in the execution of these Regulations;

(b) without reasonable cause, fails to give to any person acting in the execution of these Regulations any assistance or information that that person may reasonably require of him for the purposes of his functions;

(c) furnishes to any person acting in the execution of these Regulations any information that he knows to be false or misleading; or

(d) fails to produce a passport, document or record when required to do so to any person acting under these Regulations,

is guilty of an offence.

(2) Any person who provides false information in any notification made under these Regulations is guilty of an offence.

Offences by bodies corporate

14.—(1) Where a body corporate is guilty of an offence under these Regulations, and that offence is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to have been attributable to any neglect on the part of—

(a) any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate; or

(b) any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity,

he, as well as the body corporate, is guilty of the offence and liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

(2) In this regulation “director” in relation to a body corporate whose affairs are managed by its members, means a member of the body corporate.

Penalties

15.  A person guilty of an offence under these Regulations is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or to imprisonment not exceeding three months or to both;

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both.

Enforcement

16.—(1) These Regulations are enforced by the local authority.

(2) The Secretary of State may direct in any particular case or class of case that he will enforce them instead.

Revocations

17.  The following are revoked in England—

(a) the Bovine Animals (Records, Identification and Movement) Order 1995(13);

(b) the Cattle Identification Regulations 1998(14);

(c) the Cattle Database Regulations 1998(15);

(d) the Cattle Identification (Amendment) Regulations 1998(16);

(e) the Cattle Identification (Amendment) Regulations 1999(17);

(f) the Cattle (Identification of Older Animals) Regulations 2000(18);

(g) the Cattle Database (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2002(19);

(h) the Cattle (Identification of Older Animals) (Amendment) Regulations 2002(20);

(i) the Cattle Identification (Amendment) Regulations 2006(21); and

(j) the Cattle Database (Amendment) Regulations 2006(22).

Ben Bradshaw

Minister of State

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

1st February 2007

We consent

Kevin Brennan

Alan Campbell

Two of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury

19th February 2007