Any animal imported from a third country which has passed the checks laid down by Directive 91/496/EEC and which remains within Community territory shall, within thirty days of undergoing those checks, and, in any event, before their movement, be identified by a mark complying with Article 5 of this Directive unless the holding of destination is a slaughterhouse situated on the territory of the competent authority responsible for veterinary checks and the animal is actually slaughtered within that 30-day period.
A link shall be established between the identification established by the third country and the identification allocated to it by the Member State of destination. That link shall be recorded in the register provided for in Article 4.