The Animals and Animal Products (Import and Export) (England) Regulations 2005

Assembly centres and slaughterhouses

12.—(1) Any person operating an assembly centre shall do so in accordance with this regulation.

(2) The assembly centre shall be approved by the Secretary of State and given a number, and approval shall only be given if the Secretary of State is satisfied that—

(a) in the case of an assembly centre used for cattle or pigs, the centre complies with the requirements of paragraphs (a) to (d) of Article 11(1) of Council Directive 64/432/EEC;

(b) in the case of an assembly centre used for sheep or goats, the centre complies with the requirements of paragraphs (a) to (d) of Article 8a(1) of Council Directive 91/68/EEC; and

(c) the operator of the assembly centre has agreed to comply with the requirements for the operation of the centre which an inspector has specified in an operational agreement as being the requirements the inspector believes are necessary to ensure the centre is capable of being operated in accordance with the second indent of Article 3(2) of Council Directive 90/425/EEC.

(3) The operator of an assembly centre shall admit to those premises only animals that are identified and come from herds or flocks that are eligible for intra-Community trade.

(4) Where animals are consigned to an assembly centre, the operator of the assembly centre shall—

(a) ensure that no animal is admitted unless it complies with Article 3(1) of Council Directive 90/425/EEC; and

(b) record on a register—

(i) the name of the owner, the origin, date of entry and exit, number of the animals, and their proposed destination;

(ii) the registration number of the transporter and the licence number of the vehicle delivering or collecting animals from the centre;

(iii) in the case of cattle, the identification of the animals or the registration number of the holding of origin as well as the information in paragraphs (i) and (ii);

(iv) in the case of pigs, the registration number of the holding of origin or of the herd of origin as well as the information in paragraphs (i) and (ii); and

(v) in the case of sheep or goats, the identification of the animals, or the registration number of the holding of origin of the animals, and, where applicable, the approval or registration number of any assembly centre through which the animals have passed prior to entering the centre as well as the information in paragraphs (i) and (ii),

and shall preserve each such record in the register for a minimum of three years.

(5) Where animals are consigned to a slaughterhouse under the supervision of an official veterinary surgeon appointed under the provisions of regulation 8 of the Fresh Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1995(1) or regulation 8 of the Poultry Meat, Farmed Game Bird Meat and Rabbit Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1995(2), the official veterinary surgeon shall ensure that no animal is slaughtered unless it complies with Article 3(1) of Council Directive 90/425/EEC.

(6) If, in carrying out inspections under the preceding paragraph, the official veterinary surgeon establishes that animals imported from another member State are accompanied by incorrect certification or cannot readily be identified, he shall forthwith notify a veterinary inspector authorised by the Secretary of State to receive that notification, who shall examine the animals and shall either—

(a) certify that they are fit to be slaughtered and used for their intended purpose; or

(b) by notice served on the official veterinary surgeon require the animals to be slaughtered and destroyed or re-exported, in each case at the expense of the importer.

(7) Where paragraphs (4) and (5) do not apply, any person who markets any animal consigned to him from another member State, or divides up batches of such animals for distribution or marketing—

(a) shall check, before any animal is marketed or any batch is divided up, that all the animals comply with the relevant provisions of an instrument in Part I of Schedule 3, with respect to identification marks and required consignment documentation;

(b) shall immediately notify any irregularity or anomaly to a veterinary inspector authorised by the Secretary of State to receive such notification; and

(c) if there is a breach of Article 3(1)(d) of Council Directive 90/425/EEC, shall isolate the animals in question until a veterinary inspector authorised by the Secretary of State to do so has authorised their release in writing.

(1)

S.I. 1995/539, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations.

(2)

S.I. 1995/540, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations.