Article 1U.K.Subject and scope

This Decision lays down the animal health protection measures for [F1the introduction into Great Britain of salamanders].

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Article 2U.K.Definitions

For the purposes of this Decision, the following definitions shall apply:

(a)

‘salamanders’ means all amphibians of the order Caudata;

(b)

‘Bsal’ means the fungus Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (kingdom fungi, Phylum Chytridiomycota, order Rhizophydiales);

(c)

‘epidemiological unit’ means a group of salamanders with the same likelihood of exposure to Bsal;

(d)

‘quarantine’ means the keeping of salamanders in isolation with no direct or indirect contact with salamanders outside their epidemiological unit, for the purposes of ensuring that there is no spread of Bsal while the animals in isolation are undergoing observation for a specified length of time and testing and, if appropriate, treatment;

(e)

‘operator’ means any natural or legal person having salamanders under its responsibility, including for a limited duration of time, but excluding pet keepers;

(f)

‘appropriate establishment’ means premises:

(i)

where salamanders are kept in quarantine [F2after their introduction into Great Britain]; and

(ii)

which are registered by the competent authority prior to the date of commencement of any quarantine;

(g)

‘appropriate diagnostic test’ means a real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay containing species-specific STerF and STerR primers amplifying a 119 nucleotide long fragment of Bsal DNA;

(h)

[F3‘common health entry document’ or ‘CHED’ means the document notifying the arrival of animals into Great Britain as referred to in Article 40 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1715 and drawn up in accordance with the model in the form published by the appropriate authority from time to time;]

(i)

‘confirmed case of Bsal’ means the confirmation of the presence of Bsal or its genetic material on or in the tissues of salamanders by the appropriate diagnostic test;

(j)

[F4‘appropriate authority’ means the Secretary of State (in relation to England), the Welsh Ministers (in relation to Wales) and the Scottish Ministers (in relation to Scotland); but the “appropriate authority” is the Secretary of State if consent is given by:

(i)

in relation to Wales, the Welsh Ministers;

(ii)

in relation to Scotland, the Scottish Ministers;

(k)

‘third country’ means any country or territory other than the British Islands.]

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F5Article 3U.K.Animal health conditions for intra-Union trade in salamanders

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Article 4U.K.Animal health conditions for the introduction into [F6Great Britain] of consignments of salamanders

[F7The appropriate authority] shall prohibit the introduction into [F8Great Britain] of consignments of salamanders from a third country, except where such consignments comply with the following conditions:

(a)

they come from third countries listed in one of the following:

(i)

Annex I to [F9Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/659];

(ii)

Part 2 of Annex II to Decision 2007/777/EC;

(iii)

Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 798/2008;

(iv)

Part 1 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 119/2009;

(v)

Part 1 of Annex II to Regulation (EU) No 206/2010;

or

(vi)

Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 605/2010;

(b)

they are accompanied by an animal health certificate which complies with the model animal health certificate [F10, in the form published by the appropriate authority from time to time];

(c)

the salamanders must not show clinical signs of Bsal, in particular there must be no signs of skin lesions and ulcers at the time of examination by the official veterinarian; and that examination must have been carried out within a period of 24 hours prior to the time of dispatch of the consignment to [F11Great Britain];

(d)

before issuing the animal health certificate referred to in point (b), the epidemiological unit comprising the salamanders in the consignment must have been isolated from other salamanders at the latest at the time of the examination for the purposes of issuing of animal health certificate and they must not have been in contact with other salamanders since that time.

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Article 5U.K.Attestation regarding the appropriate establishment of destination

[F12The appropriate authority must ensure that border control posts do not accept the entry into Great Britain of any consignments of salamanders unless importers or their agents have provided a written attestation, signed by the person responsible for the appropriate establishment of destination, stating:]

(a)

the name and address of the appropriate establishment of destination;

(b)

that the appropriate establishment of destination complies with the minimum conditions set out in Annex II;

(c)

that the consignment of salamanders will be accepted for quarantine.

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Article 6U.K.Quarantine rules for consignments of salamanders introduced into [F13Great Britain]

[F14The appropriate authority] shall ensure that:

1.

The official or approved veterinarian responsible for the appropriate establishment of destination records the arrival of the consignment of salamanders introduced into [F15Great Britain ] from a third country in [F16the relevant section] in the electronic version of the common [F17health] entry document.

2.

The official or approved veterinarian ensures that the operator keeps the consignment of salamanders in quarantine in the appropriate establishment of destination as one epidemiological unit.

3.

The official or approved veterinarian inspects the conditions of quarantine for each consignment of salamanders, including an examination of the mortality records and a clinical inspection of the salamanders in the appropriate establishment of destination, checking in particular for skin lesions and ulcers.

4.

Where a consignment comprises 62 or more salamanders, the official or approved veterinarian carries out the examination, sampling, testing and treatment procedures for Bsal in accordance with the procedures referred to in points 1 and 2 of Annex III, following the arrival of the consignment of salamanders at the appropriate establishment of destination.

5.

Where the consignment comprises less than 62 salamanders, the official or approved veterinarian ensures that the consignment is treated to the satisfaction of the competent authority against Bsal in accordance with point 3 of Annex III.

6.

The official or approved veterinarian releases the consignment of salamanders from the appropriate establishment of destination by a written authorisation:

(a)

in case of testing as referred to in point 1(a) of Annex III, provided that at least 6 weeks has elapsed since the date of the the commencement of the period of quarantine and not before the receipt of the negative test results, whichever is later; or

(b)

in the case of treatment as referred to in point 1(b) of Annex III, only after satisfactory completion of the treatment.

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Article 7U.K.Measures to be taken in the event of a confirmed case of Bsal in an appropriate establishment of destination

1.[F18The appropriate authority] shall ensure that where during quarantine it is confirmed that at least one salamander of an epidemiological unit is infected with Bsal, the following measures are taken by the appropriate establishment of destination:

(a)all salamanders in the same epidemiological unit are either:

(i)

treated to the satisfaction of the competent authority against Bsal in accordance with point 3 of Annex III; or

(ii)

killed and disposed of as animal by-products in accordance with Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009.

(b)following completion of the measures referred to in point (a), the area of the appropriate establishment of destination where the epidemiological unit had been kept is cleaned and disinfected to the satisfaction of the competent authority.

2.The competent authority may require testing of the treated salamanders to verify the effectiveness of the treatment referred to in point 1(a)(i) and may require repeated treatments, as appropriate, to prevent the spread of Bsal.

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Article 8U.K.Costs

[F19The appropriate authority] shall ensure that all quarantine costs, testing costs and, where necessary, the costs of risk mitigation measures and treatments are borne by the operator or the importer.

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Article 9U.K.Annual reporting requirements

[F20At the latest by 30 June each year, starting from 2021, where the appropriate authority has authorised the handling of consignments of salamanders in the previous year at a border control post in Great Britain, the competent authority at the border control post shall notify the appropriate authority of the following information related to the introduction of salamander consignments into Great Britain:]

(a)

the number of epidemiological units with at least one confirmed case of Bsal;

(b)

the number of epidemiological units treated without a confirmed case;

(c)

any further information they deem relevant on testing, treating or handling the consignments and on the implementation of this Decision.

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F21Article 10U.K.Transitional measures

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F22Article 11U.K. Applicability

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F23Article 12U.K.Addressees

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