1.Member States shall ensure that the following measures are applied in the protection zone:
(a)a census of all the holdings shall be carried out as soon as possible; after the establishment of the protection zone these holdings shall be visited by an official veterinarian within not more than seven days in order to conduct a clinical examination of the pigs and to check the register and the pig identification marks referred to in Articles 4 and 5 of Directive 92/102/EEC;
(b)the movement and transport of pigs on public or private roads, excluding when necessary the service roads of holdings, shall be prohibited unless approved by the competent authority when allowing the movements referred to in point (f). This prohibition need not be applied to the transit of pigs by road or rail without unloading or stopping. Furthermore, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 24(2), a derogation may be granted for slaughter pigs coming from outside the protection zone and on their way to a slaughterhouse situated in the said zone for immediate slaughter;
(c)trucks and other vehicles and equipment, which are used to transport pigs or other livestock or material which may be contaminated (such as carcases, feedingstuff, manure, slurry and so forth) shall be cleaned, disinfected, if necessary disinsectised and treated as soon as possible after contamination, in accordance with Article 12. No truck or vehicle which has been used for the transport of pigs may leave the zone without being cleaned and disinfected and then inspected and re-authorised for transport by the competent authority;
(d)no other domestic animal may enter or leave a holding without the authorisation of the competent authority;
(e)all dead or diseased pigs on a holding shall be immediately notified to the competent authority, which shall carry out appropriate investigations in accordance with the procedures laid down in the diagnostic manual;
(f)pigs may not be removed from the holding in which they are kept for at least 40 days after the completion of the preliminary cleansing and disinfection, and, if necessary, disinsectisation of the infected holdings. After 40 days, subject to the conditions referred to in paragraph 3, the competent authority may authorise the removal of pigs from the said holding to be directly transported to:
(f)a slaughterhouse designated by the competent authority, preferably within the protection or surveillance zone for the purpose of immediate slaughter,
a processing plant or a suitable place where the pigs are immediately killed and their carcases are processed under official supervision,
in exceptional circumstances, to other premises located within the protection zone. Member States making use of this provision shall immediately inform the Commission thereof in the Standing Veterinary Committee;
(g)semen, ova or embryos of pigs shall not leave the holdings situated within the protection zone;
(h)any person entering or leaving pig holdings shall comply with appropriate hygiene measures as necessary to reduce the risk of African swine fever virus spreading.
2.Where the prohibitions provided for in paragraph 1 are maintained beyond 40 days because of further outbreaks of the disease and as a result animal welfare or other problems arise in keeping the pigs, subject to the conditions referred to in paragraph 3, the competent authority may, following a reasoned application by the owner, authorise the removal of pigs from a holding within the protection zone, to be directly transported to:
(a)a slaughterhouse designated by the competent authority, preferably within the protection or surveillance zone for the purpose of immediate slaughter;
(b)a processing plant or a suitable place where the pigs are immediately killed and their carcases are processed under official supervision;
(c)in exceptional circumstances, to other premises located within the protection zone. Member States making use of this provision shall immediately inform the Commission thereof in the Standing Veterinary Committee.
3.Where reference is made to this paragraph, the competent authority may authorise the removal of pigs from the holding concerned, on condition that:
(a)an official veterinarian has carried out a clinical examination of the pigs in the holding and in particular of those to be moved, including the taking of the body temperature in accordance with the procedures laid down in the diagnostic manual and a check of the register and the pig identification marks referred to in Articles 4 and 5 of Directive 92/102/EEC;
(b)the checks and examinations referred to in point (a) have shown no evidence of African swine fever and compliance with Directive 92/102/EEC;
(c)the pigs are transported in vehicles sealed by the competent authority;
(d)the vehicle and equipment which have been involved in the transport of the pigs are immediately cleaned and disinfected after the transport in accordance with the provisions referred to in Article 12;
(e)if the pigs are to be slaughtered or killed, a sufficient number of samples is then taken from the pigs in accordance with the diagnostic manual in order that the presence of African swine fever virus in these holdings can be confirmed or ruled out;
(f)if the pigs are to be transported to a slaughterhouse:
(f)the competent authority responsible for the slaughterhouse has been informed of the intention to send the pigs and notifies the dispatching competent authority of their arrival,
on arrival at the slaughterhouse, these pigs are kept and slaughtered separately from other pigs,
during ante and post mortem inspection carried out at the designated slaughterhouse, the competent authority takes into account any signs of the presence of African swine fever,
the fresh meat from these pigs is either processed or marked with the special mark referred to in Article 5a of Council Directive 72/461/EEC of 12 December 1972 on health problems affecting intra-Community trade in fresh meat(1), and is processed separately in accordance with the rules laid down in Article 4(1)(a)(i) of Council Directive 80/215/EEC of 22 January 1980 on animal health problems affecting intra-Community trade in meat products(2). This must be done at an establishment designated by the competent authority. The meat must be sent to the said establishment on condition that the consignment is sealed before departure and remains sealed throughout the transport.
4.The measures in the protection zone shall continue to be applied at least until:
(a)cleansing, disinfection and, if necessary, disinsectisation in the infected holdings have been carried out;
(b)pigs on all holdings have undergone clinical and laboratory examinations carried out in accordance with the diagnostic manual in order to detect the possible presence of African swine fever virus.
The examinations referred to in point (b) shall not take place until 45 days have elapsed since the completion of preliminary cleansing, disinfection and, if necessary, disinsectisation measures on the infected holdings.
5.However, by way of derogation from paragraphs 1(f), and from paragraphs 2 and 4, the 40- and 45-day periods stipulated therein may be reduced to 30 days if, in accordance with the diagnostic manual, the Member States have applied an intensive sampling and testing programme making it possible to rule out the presence of African swine fever on the holding in question.
OJ L 302, 31.12.1972, p. 24 (S.E. SER. I (1972) p. 3). Directive as amended by the 1994 Act of Accession.
OJ L 47, 21.2.1980, p. 4. Directive as amended by the 1994 Act of Accession.