Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/627Show full title

Article 13 U.K. Derogation on the timing of post-mortem inspection

1. By way of derogation from Article 12(1), the competent authorities may allow that, when neither the official veterinarian nor the official auxiliary are present in the game-handling establishment or slaughterhouse during slaughter and dressing, the post-mortem inspection is delayed by a maximum period of 24 hours from slaughter or arrival in the game-handling establishment, provided that:

(a) the animals concerned are slaughtered in a low-capacity slaughterhouse or handled in a low-capacity game-handling establishment that slaughters or handles:

(i)

fewer than 1 000 livestock units per year; or

(ii)

fewer than 150 000 poultry, lagomorphs and small wild game per year;

(b) sufficient facilities exist within an establishment to store the fresh meat and offal so that they can be examined;

(c) the post-mortem inspection is carried out by the official veterinarian.

2. The competent authorities may increase the thresholds laid down in point (a) (i) and (ii) of paragraph 1 ensuring that the derogation is applied in the smallest slaughterhouses and game-handling establishments complying with the definition of low-capacity slaughterhouse or low-capacity game-handling establishment and provided that the combined annual production of these establishments does not exceed 5 % of the total amount of fresh meat produced in a Member State:

(a) for the species concerned;

(b) or for all ungulates together;

(c) of all poultry together; or,

(d) of all birds and lagomorphs together.

In such case, the competent authorities shall notify this derogation and the evidence to support it in accordance with the procedure laid down in Directive (EU) 2015/1535 of the European Parliament and of the Council(1);

3. For the purpose of point (a) (i) of paragraph 1, the conversion rates laid down in Article 17(6) of Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009 shall be used. However in case of ovine and caprine animals and small (< 100 kg life weight) Cervidae a conversion rate of 0,05 livestock units, and in case of other large game a conversion rate of 0,2 livestock units shall be used.

(1)

Directive (EU) 2015/1535 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 September 2015 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical regulations and of rules on Information Society services (OJ L 241, 17.9.2015, p. 1).