Commission Regulation (EC) No 2629/97 of 29 December 1997 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 820/97 as regards eartags, holding registers and passports in the framework of the system for the identification and registration of bovine animals (Text with EEA relevance)
Modified by
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1177/98of 5 June 1998amending Regulation (EC) No 2629/97 with regard to use of the animal identification code by Italy(Text with EEA relevance), 31998R1177, June 6, 1998
Commission Regulation (EC) No 2194/98of 12 October 1998amending Regulation (EC) No 2629/97 as regards ear-tags in the framework of the system for the identification and registration of bovine animals(Text with EEA relevance), 31998R2194, October 13, 1998
Commission Regulation (EC) No 331/1999of 12 February 1999amending Regulation (EC) No 2629/97 as regards passports in the framework of the system for the identification and registration of bovine animals, 31999R0331, February 13, 1999
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1663/1999of 28 July 1999amending Regulation (EC) No 2629/97 as regards eartags in the framework of the system for the identification and registration of bovine animals(Text with EEA relevance), 31999R1663, July 29, 1999
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1606/2000of 24 July 2000amending Regulation (EC) No 2629/97 with regard to the use of the animal identification code by the United Kingdom, 32000R1606, July 25, 2000
Commission Regulation (EC) No 911/2004of 29 April 2004implementing Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards eartags, passports and holding registers(Text with EEA relevance), 32004R0911, April 30, 2004
Commission Regulation (EC) No 2629/97of 29 December 1997laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 820/97 as regards eartags, holding registers and passports in the framework of the system for the identification and registration of bovine animals(Text with EEA relevance)THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 820/97 of 21 April 1997 establishing a system for the identification and registration of bovine animals and regarding the labelling of beef and beef productsOJ L 117, 7. 5. 1997, p. 1., and in particular Article 10 (a), (b) and (c) thereof,Whereas eartags should include information on the Member State of origin together with information on the individual animal; whereas the most appropriate codified form of such information is the two-letter country code together with a maximum of 12 digits; whereas certain Member States should be authorized to maintain their current system during a transitional period;Whereas bar codes may be authorized in addition to the country code and up to 12 digits;Whereas it is appropriate to define certain minimum uniform rules for the design and lay-out of eartags;Whereas the provisions concerning the content of the eartags should be reviewed in the light of the establishment of the computerized database provided for in Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 820/97;Whereas that information contained in the passport and the register must be in a form which allows animals to be traced;Whereas that information must be consistent with that to be included in the computerized database provided for in Council Directive 64/432/EEC of 26 June 1964 on health problems affecting intra-Community trade in bovine animals and swineOJ 121, 29. 7. 1964, p. 1977/64., as last amended by Directive 97/12/ECOJ L 109, 25. 4. 1997, p. 1.;Whereas in view of the control measures relating to Community aid schemes, it is necessary to include in the passport certain information relating to the premiums, as provided in Article 4 (b) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 805/68 of 27 June 1968, on the common organization of the market in beef and vealOJ L 148, 26. 6. 1968, p. 24., as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2321/97OJ L 322, 25. 11. 1997, p. 25.;Whereas in view of the timetable for the application of Regulation (EC) No 820/97, this Regulation should enter into force as a matter of urgency;Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund,HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
CHAPTER IEartagsArticle 11.Eartags shall contain at least the name, the code or the logo of the competent authority or of the central competent authority of the Member State which allocated the eartags, and the characters provided for in paragraph 2.2.The characters on the eartags shall be as follows:(a)the first two positions shall identify the Member State of the holding where the animal is first identified. For this purpose the two-letter country code set out in the Annex shall be used;(b)the characters following the country code shall be numeric and shall not exceed 12. However, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Portugal and the United Kingdom may maintain their current system of an alpha-numeric code for the 12 digits following the country code until 31 December 1999.The United Kingdom may postpone this date until 30 June 2000.3.In addition to the information provided for in paragraph 1, a bar code may be authorized by the central competent authorities of the Member States.4.In addition to the information provided for in paragraph 1, the Italian central competent authority may use a maximum of three supplementary characters. Those characters shall not form part of the numeric code provided for by point (b) of paragraph 2.5.Keepers shall be authorised to acquire in advance, if they so wish and in compliance with the applicable national provisions, the appropriate quantity of ear-tags to cover their needs for a period of no more than one year. In the case of holdings which have no more than five animals, the competent authority may provide in advance five pairs of ear-tags.6.In addition to the information provided for in paragraph 1 and distinct from it, the replacement eartags used in the event of eartag losses may contain a mark with the version number of the replacement eartag expressed in Roman numerals. In such an event, the identification code provided for in paragraph 2 shall remain unchanged.7.In case of an eartag loss, the replacement eartag used by a Member State for animals born in another Member State shall bear at least the same information as is provided for in paragraph 2, and also the code or the logo of the competent authority issuing it.Article 2Eartags shall meet the following requirements:(a)they shall be of flexible plastic material;(b)they shall be tamper-proof and easy to read throughout the lifetime of the animal;(c)they shall not be re-usable;(d)they shall be of a design which will remain attached to the animal without being harmful to it;(e)they shall carry only non-removable inscriptions, as provided for in Article 1.Article 3The model of the eartag shall be as follows:(a)each eartag shall consist of two parts, a male part and a female part;(b)each part of the eartag shall contain only the information provided for in Article 1;(c)the length of the eartag shall be at least 45 mm for each part;(d)the width of the eartag shall be at least 55 mm for each part;(e)the characters shall have a minimum height of 5 mm.Article 4Member States may choose other material or model for the second eartag and may decide to add further information provided that the provisions of Article 1 (1) and (2) are complied with.Article 5Member States shall communicate to each other and to the Commission the models of the first and the second eartag referred to in Articles 3 and 4.CHAPTER IIPassports and registersArticle 61.The passport shall contain at least the following:(a)the information referred to in Article 14 (3) C (1), first to seventh indents of Directive 64/432/EEC;(b)the information referred to in:Article 14 (3) C (2), second indent of Directive 64/432/EEC, orArticle 14 (3) C (2), first indent if the database provided for by Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 820/97 is fully operational;(c)the signature of the keeper(s), with the exception of the transporter. When the database is fully operational as provided for in Article 6 (3), first indent, of Regulation (EC) No 820/97, only the signature of the last keeper shall be provided;(d)the name of issuing authority;(e)the date of issue of the passport.2.Without prejudice to the provisions of Chapter I.A.1 of the Annex to Council Directive 91/628/EECOJ L 340, 11. 12. 1991, p. 17., if a calf under four weeks of age is moved, Member States may provide for it to be accompanied by a temporary document containing at least the information set out in paragraph 1 in the format approved by the competent authority.The temporary document shall be issued by the first keeper of the calf and shall be completed by each subsequent keeper with the exception of transporters. The keeper shall submit the temporary document to the competent authority before the animal is four weeks old, or within seven days if the animal dies or is slaughtered before it is four weeks old. Where the calf is still alive, the competent authority shall issue a passport within 14 days of receipt of the temporary document. Such passports must show details of all movements made by the calf as recorded on the temporary document.Provided that the navel is healed, the calf may not move more than twice between holdings, accompanied by the temporary document. For the purpose of this paragraph, movement between two holdings through a market or calf collection centre shall count as one movement, provided that the market or the calf collection centre can provide, upon request, to the competent authorities a full record of the transactions carried out within the framework of that market or centre.3.In respect of the requirement for each keeper of animals to notify the movement, birth and death of the animal in accordance with the second indent of Article 7 (1) of Regulation (EC) No 820/97, the relevant period shall be determined by the Member State but in the case of births shall not in any case exceed 15 days from the date when the animal is tagged and as from 1 January 2000 shall not exceed seven days from the date when the animal is tagged.4.In derogation to point 1(a), the information provided for by the second and fifth indents of Article 14, paragraph 3, point C.1 of Directive 64/432/EEC is not compulsory for passports of bovine animals born before 1 January 1998. The derogation foreseen in this paragraph takes effect without prejudice to the obligation to mention the abovementioned pieces of information on passports of bovine animals born in the territory of a Member State where such a requirement is foreseen by its national rules. Member States shall communicate to each other and to the Commission the rules applied regarding the information mentioned in this paragraph.Article 7In addition to the information referred to in Article 6, the following information concerning the premium situation of the male animal, as provided for in Article 4 (b) of the Council Regulation (EC) No 805/68, shall be added to the passport:(a)application or grant: first-age bracket;(b)application or grant: second-age bracket.Article 8The register shall contain at least the following:(a)the up-to-date information provided for in Article 14 (3) C (1), first to fourth indents of Directive 64/432/EEC;(b)the date of death of the animal on the holding;(c)in the case of animals departing from the holding, the name and address of the keeper, with the exception of the transporter, or the identification code of the holding, to whom/which the animal was transferred, as well as the date of departure;(d)in the case of animals arriving on the holding, the name and address of the keeper, with the exception of the transporter, or the identification code of the holding, from whom/which the animal was transferred, as well as the date of arrival;(e)the name and signature of the representative of the competent authority who has checked the register and the date on which the check was carried out.Article 9Member States shall communicate to each other and to the Commission the model of the passport and the holding register used within their territory.CHAPTER IIIGeneralArticle 10This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.It shall apply from 1 January 1998.This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.ANNEX