PART IIANIMAL HEALTH REQUIREMENTS FOR ENTRY INTO THE UNION OF KEPT TERRESTRIAL ANIMALS AS REFERRED TO IN ARTICLES 3 AND 5

TITLE 2ANIMAL HEALTH REQUIREMENTS FOR UNGULATES

CHAPTER 1 Specific animal health requirements for ungulates

Article 21Identification of ungulates

1.

Consignments of ungulates, other than equine animals, shall only be permitted to enter the Union if the animals of the consignment were individually identified prior to being dispatched from the establishment of origin, by a physical means of identification with a visible, legible and indelible display of:

(a)

the identification code of the animal which establishes an unequivocal link between the animal and the accompanying animal health certificate;

(b)

the code of the exporting country in accordance with ISO Standard 3166 in the format of two-letter code.

2.

Consignments of equine animals shall only be permitted to enter the Union if the animals of the consignment were individually identified prior to being dispatched from the establishment of origin at least by one of the following methods:

(a)

an injectable transponder or ear tag, with a visible, legible and indelible display of:

  1. (i)

    the identification code of the animal which establishes an unequivocal link between the animal and the accompanying animal health certificate;

  2. (ii)

    the ISO-3166 two-digit alpha or three-digit numeric country code of the exporting country;

(b)

in the case of equine animals other than those intended for slaughter, an identification document, issued at the latest at the time of certification for entry into the Union, which:

  1. (i)

    describes and depicts the animal, including the alternative methods of identification, so as to establish an unequivocal link between the animal and the accompanying identification document;

  2. (ii)

    contains information on the individual code emitted by an implanted injectable transponder in the case where this code does not comply with the specifications in point (a).

3.

By way of derogation from paragraph 1, consignments of ungulates intended for confined establishments may be permitted to enter the Union if those animals are individually identified by an injectable transponder or an alternative method of identification which ensures an unequivocal link between the animal and its accompanying entry documentation.

4.

Where ungulates are identified with an electronic identifier which does not comply with ISO Standards 11784 and 11785 the operator responsible for entry into the Union of the consignments of ungulates shall provide the reading device which enables at any time the verification of the identification of the animal.