Commission Regulation (EC) No 504/2008 of 6 June 2008 implementing Council Directives 90/426/EEC and 90/427/EEC as regards methods for the identification of equidae (Text with EEA relevance)
Modified by
Commission Regulation (EU) No 519/2013of 21 February 2013adapting certain regulations and decisions in the fields of free movement of goods, freedom of movement for persons, right of establishment and freedom to provide services, company law, competition policy, agriculture, food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy, fisheries, transport policy, energy, taxation, statistics, social policy and employment, environment, customs union, external relations, and foreign, security and defence policy, by reason of the accession of Croatia, 32013R0519, June 10, 2013
Commission Regulation (EC) No 504/2008of 6 June 2008implementing Council Directives 90/426/EEC and 90/427/EEC as regards methods for the identification of equidae(Text with EEA relevance)THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,Having regard to Council Directive 90/426/EEC of 26 June 1990 on animal health conditions governing the movement and import from third countries of equidaeOJ L 224, 18.8.1990, p. 42. Directive as last amended by Directive 2006/104/EC (OJ L 363, 20.12.2006, p. 352)., and in particular Article 4(4) thereof,Having regard to Council Directive 90/427/EEC of 26 June 1990 on the zootechnical and genealogical conditions governing intra-Community trade in equidaeOJ L 224, 18.8.1990, p. 55., and in particular Article 4(2)(c) and (d), the second indent of Article 6(2) and the first subparagraph of Article 8(1) thereof,Having regard to Council Directive 94/28/EC of 23 June 1994 laying down the principles relating to the zootechnical and genealogical conditions applicable to imports from third countries of animals, their semen, ova and embryos, and amending Directive 77/504/EEC on pure-bred breeding animals of the bovine speciesOJ L 178, 12.7.1994, p. 66., and in particular Article 3(4) thereof,Whereas:(1)Commission Decision 93/623/EEC of 20 October 1993 establishing the identification document (passport) accompanying registered equidaeOJ L 298, 3.12.1993, p. 45. Decision as amended by Decision 2000/68/EC (OJ L 23, 28.1.2000, p. 72). introduces a method to identify registered equidae during their movements for animal health control purposes.(2)Commission Decision 2000/68/EC of 22 December 1999 amending Commission Decision 93/623/EEC and establishing the identification of equidae for breeding and productionOJ L 23, 28.1.2000, p. 72., lays down rules on the identification document to accompany equidae during movement.(3)Decisions 93/623/EEC and 2000/68/EC have been implemented differently by the Member States. In addition, the identification of equidae in those Decisions is linked to movement, while in Community legislation concerning other livestock species, animals are identified, inter alia for disease control purposes, regardless of their movement status. In addition, that two-tier system of equidae for breeding and production on the one side and registered equidae on the other side may lead to the issuing of more than one identification document for a single animal which can only be counteracted by applying to the animal an indelible, but not necessarily visible, mark on the occasion of the primary identification of the animal.(4)The outline diagram included in the identification document set out in Decision 93/623/EEC is not fully compatible with similar information required by international organisations handling equidae for competitions and races and by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). This Regulation should therefore establish an outlinediagram which is appropriate to the needs of the Community and in line with those internationally accepted requirements.(5)Imports of equidae continue to be subject to the conditions laid down in Directive 90/426/EEC, and in particular in Commission Decision 93/196/EEC of 5 February 1993 on animal health conditions and veterinary certification for imports of equidae for slaughterOJ L 86, 6.4.1993, p. 7. Decision as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1792/2006 (OJ L 362, 20.12.2006, p. 1)., and Commission Decision 93/197/EEC of 5 February 1993 on animal health conditions and veterinary certification for imports of registered equidae and equidae for breeding and productionOJ L 86, 6.4.1993, p. 16. Decision as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1792/2006..(6)When the customs procedures laid down in Council Regulation (EC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community Customs CodeOJ L 302, 19.10.1992, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1791/2006 (OJ L 363, 20.12.2006, p. 1). are applied, it is necessary to refer in addition to Council Regulation (EEC) No 706/73 of 12 March 1973 concerning the Community arrangements applicable to the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man for trade in agricultural productsOJ L 68, 15.3.1973, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1174/86 (OJ L 107, 24.4.1986, p. 1).. Regulation (EEC) No 706/73 stipulates that as from 1 September 1973, the Community rules are applicable in the matter of veterinary legislation, but excludes Community zootechnical legislation. The present Regulation should apply without prejudice to that Regulation.(7)Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 July 2000 establishing a system for the identification and registration of bovine animals and regarding the labelling of beef and beef productsOJ L 204, 11.8.2000, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1791/2006. provides a definition of a keeper of animals. By contrast, Article 4(2) of Directive 90/426/EEC refers to the owner or breeder of the animal. Council Directive 92/35/EEC of 29 April 1992 laying down control rules and measures to combat African horse sicknessOJ L 157, 10.6.1992, p. 19. Directive as last amended by Commission Decision 2007/729/EC (OJ L 294, 13.11.2007, p. 26). provides for a combined definition of owner and keeper. As under Community and national legislation, the owner of an equine animal is not necessarily the person responsible for the animal, it is appropriate to clarify that primarily the keeper of the equine animal, who may be the owner, should be responsible for the identification of equine animals in accordance with the present Regulation.(8)In the interests of consistency of Community legislation, the methods for the identification of equidae provided for in this Regulation should apply without prejudice to Commission Decision 96/78/EC of 10 January 1996 laying down the criteria for entry and registration of equidae in stud books for breeding purposesOJ L 19, 25.1.1996, p. 39..(9)Those methods should be in line with the principles established by breeding organisations approved in accordance with Commission Decision 92/353/EEC of 11 June 1992 laying down the criteria for the approval or recognition of organisations and associations which maintain or establish stud books for registered equidaeOJ L 192, 11.7.1992, p. 63.. In accordance with that Decision, it is for the organisation or association which maintains the stud book of the origin of the breed to establish principles on a system for identifying equidae and on the division of the stud book into classes and on the lineages entered in the stud book.(10)In addition, the certificate of origin, referred to in Article 4(2)(d) of Directive 90/427/EEC, to be incorporated in the identification document should mention all necessary information to ensure that equidae which are moved between different stud books are entered in the class of the stud book the criteria of which they meet.(11)In accordance with the third indent of Article 1 of Commission Decision 96/510/EC of 18 July 1996 laying down the pedigree and zootechnical certificates for the importation of breeding animals, their semen, ova and embryosOJ L 210, 20.8.1996, p. 53. Decision as amended by Decision 2004/186/EC (OJ L 57, 25.2.2004, p. 27). the pedigree and zootechnical certificate for registered equidae must be conform to the identification document as laid down in Decision 93/623/EEC. It is therefore necessary to clarify that any reference to Decision 93/623/EEC, but also to Decision 2000/68/EC, should be construed as reference to the present Regulation.(12)As all equidae born in or imported into the Community in accordance with this Regulation should be identified by a single identification document, special provisions are necessary when the animals’ status as equidae for breeding and production is changed into registered equidae as defined in Article 2(c) of Directive 90/426/EEC.(13)Member States should be able to establish specific regimes for the identification of equidae roaming under wild or semi-wild conditions in defined areas or territories, including nature reserves, for the sake of consistency with the second paragraph of Article 2 of Directive 92/35/EEC.(14)Electronic identifiers (transponders) for equidae are already in wide practical use at international level. That technology should be used to ensure a close link between the equine animal and the means of identification. Equidae should be marked with a transponder, although provision should be made for alternative methods used for the verification of the identity of the animal provided that those alternative methods provide equivalent guarantees to prevent multiple issuing of identification documents.(15)While equidae must always be accompanied by their identification document in accordance with current Community legislation, provision should be made to derogate from that requirement when it is impossible or even impractical with the view to the retention of the identification document throughout the lifetime of the equine animal, or where such document was not issued taking into account the slaughter of the animal before it reaches the required maximum age for identification.(16)Those derogations should be applied without prejudice to Article 14 of Council Directive 2003/85/EC of 29 September 2003 on Community measures for the control of foot-and-mouth diseaseOJ L 306, 22.11.2003, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Directive 2006/104/EC., which allows derogations from certain disease control measures for identified equidae on holdings where an outbreak of that disease has been confirmed.(17)Member States should also be permitted to allow a simplified identification document to be used for equidae being moved within their territory. Plastic cards with embedded computer chips (smart cards) have been introduced as data storage devices in various areas. It should be possible to issue such smart cards as an option in addition to the identification document and to use them under certain conditions in place of the identification document accompanying equidae during movements within a Member State.(18)In accordance with Article 8 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 2076/2005 of 5 December 2005 laying down transitional arrangements for the implementation of Regulations (EC) No 853/2004, (EC) No 854/2004 and (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilOJ L 338, 22.12.2005, p. 83. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1246/2007 (OJ L 281, 25.10.2007, p. 21). food chain information requirements for equidae are to be implemented by the end of 2009.(19)Provisions are necessary in case the original identification document issued in accordance with this Regulation for lifetime was lost. Those provisions should as much as possible exclude the unlawful possession of more than one identification document in order to describe correctly the animal's status as intended for slaughter for human consumption. Where sufficient and verifiable information is available, a duplicate document should be issued which is marked as such, and generally excludes the animal from the food chain; in other cases a replacement document should be issued, equally marked as such, that in addition will downgrade a previously registered equine animal to an equine for breeding and production.(20)In accordance with Articles 4 and 5 of Directive 90/426/EEC, the identification document is an instrument to immobilise equidae in case of an outbreak of a disease on the holding where they are kept or bred. It is therefore necessary to provide for the suspension of the validity of that document for movement purposes in the event of an outbreak of certain diseases by an appropriate entry in the identification document.(21)On the death of the equine animal other than by slaughter at a slaughterhouse, the identification document should be returned to the issuing body by the authority supervising the processing of the dead animal in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 October 2002 laying down health rules concerning animal by-products not intended for human consumptionOJ L 273, 10.10.2002, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1432/2007 (OJ L 320, 6.12.2007, p. 13)., and it should be ensured that the transponder, or any alternative methods, including marks, used to verify the identity of the equine animal, cannot be recycled.(22)To prevent transponders from entering the food chain, meat from animals from which it has not been possible to remove the transponder at the time of slaughter should be declared unfit for human consumption in accordance with Chapter V of Section II of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific rules for the organisation of official controls on products of animal origin intended for human consumptionOJ L 139, 30.4.2004, p. 206; corrected version (OJ L 226, 25.6.2004, p. 83). Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1791/2006..(23)The standardisation of the place of implantation of transponders and the recording of that place in the identification documents should make it easier to locate implanted transponders.(24)In accordance with Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002 laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safetyOJ L 31, 1.2.2002, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 575/2006 (OJ L 100, 8.4.2006, p. 3)., live animals prepared for placing on the market for human consumption are defined as food. That Regulation provides for far-reaching responsibilities of food business operators throughout all stages of the production of food, including traceability of food-producing animals.(25)Equidae for breeding and production, as well as registered equidae, may become equidae for slaughter as defined in Article 2(d) of Directive 90/426/EEC at a certain stage of their lifetime. Meat of solipeds, synonymous for equidae, is defined in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific hygiene rules for food of animal originOJ L 139, 30.4.2004, p. 55; corrected version (OJ L 226, 25.6.2004, p. 22). Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1243/2007 (OJ L 281, 25.10.2007, p. 8)..(26)In accordance with paragraph 7 of Section III of Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004, the slaughterhouse operator is to receive, check and act upon food chain information providing details on the origin, history and management of animals intended for food production. The competent authority may allow food chain information on domestic solipeds to be sent to the slaughterhouse at the same time as the animals, rather than being sent in advance. The identification document accompanying equidae for slaughter should therefore form part of that food chain information.(27)In accordance with paragraph 1 of Chapter III of Section II of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 the official veterinarian is to verify compliance with the food business operator's duty to ensure that animals accepted for slaughter for human consumption are properly identified.(28)In accordance with paragraph 8 of Section III of Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004, the food business operators are to check passports accompanying domestic solipeds to ensure that the animal is intended for slaughter for human consumption and if they accept the animal for slaughter they are to give the passport to the official veterinarian.(29)Without prejudice to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2377/90 of 26 June 1990 laying down a Community procedure for the establishment of maximum residue limits of veterinary medicinal products in foodstuffs of animal originOJ L 224, 18.8.1990, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 61/2008 (OJ L 22, 25.1.2008, p. 8). and Council Directive 96/22/EC of 29 April 1996 concerning the prohibition on the use in stockfarming of certain substances having a hormonal or thyrostatic action and of ß-agonistsOJ L 125, 23.5.1996, p. 3. Directive as amended by Directive 2003/74/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 262, 14.10.2003, p. 17)., the administration of veterinary medicinal products to equidae is subject to Directive 2001/82/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 November 2001 on the Community code relating to veterinary medicinal productsOJ L 311, 28.11.2001, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Directive 2004/28/EC (OJ L 136, 30.4.2004, p. 58)..(30)Article 10(2) and (3) of Directive 2001/82/EC provides for specific derogations for equidae from Article 11 of that Directive, relating to the treatment of food producing animals with medicinal products that have an established maximum residue limit for species other than the target species or are authorised for a different condition, provided that those equidae are identified in accordance with Community legislation and specifically marked in their identification document as not intended for slaughter for human consumption or as intended for slaughter for human consumption following a withdrawal period of at least six months after they have been treated with substances listed in Commission Regulation (EC) No 1950/2006 of 13 December 2006 establishing, in accordance with Directive 2001/82/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Community code relating to veterinary medicinal products, a list of substances essential for the treatment of equidaeOJ L 367, 22.12.2006, p. 33..(31)In order to maintain control over the issuing of identification documents, a minimum set of relevant data relating to the issuing of such documents should be recorded in a database. The databases in different Member States should cooperate in accordance with Council Directive 89/608/EEC of 21 November 1989 on mutual assistance between the administrative authorities of the Member States and cooperation between the latter and the Commission to ensure the correct application of legislation on veterinary and zootechnical mattersOJ L 351, 2.12.1989, p. 34. to facilitate the exchange of data.(32)The Universal Equine Life Number (UELN) system has been agreed worldwide between the major horse-breeding and competition organisations. It has been developed on the initiative of the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH), the International Stud Book Committee (ISBC), the World Arabian Horse Organization (WAHO), the European Conference of Arabian Horse Organisations (ECAHO), the Conférence Internationale de l’Anglo-Arabe (CIAA), the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) and the Union Européenne du Trot (UET) and information on this system can be consulted on the UELN websitehttp://www.ueln.net.(33)The UELN system is suitable for the registration of both registered equidae and equidae for breeding and production and allows computerised networks to be brought in gradually to ensure that the animals’ identity can continue to be verified in accordance with Article 6 of Directive 90/427/EEC in the case of registered equidae.(34)When codes are assigned to databases, those codes and the format of the recorded identification numbers of individual animals should in no way conflict with the established UELN system. Therefore, the list of assigned UELN codes should be consulted before any new code is assigned to a database.(35)Article 7(3) of Directive 90/426/EEC requires the official veterinarian to record the identification number or identification document number of the slaughtered equidae, and to forward to the competent authority at the place of dispatch, at the latter’s request, an attestation to the effect that the equine animal has been slaughtered. In accordance with Article 4(4)(i) of that Directive, after registered equidae are slaughtered, their identification document are to be returned to the body that issued them. These requirements should also apply to identification documents issued for equidae for breeding and production. Recording a UELN-compatible life number and using it to identify the authorities or bodies which issued the identification document should facilitate compliance with those requirements. Where possible, Member States should use the liaison bodies they have designated in accordance with Article 35 of Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on official controls performed to ensure the verification of compliance with feed and food law, animal health and animal welfare rulesOJ L 165, 30.4.2004, p. 1; corrected version (OJ L 191, 28.5.2004, p. 1) Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1791/2006..(36)Veterinary supervision necessary to provide the animal health guarantees in accordance with Articles 4 and 5 of Directive 90/426/EEC can only be ensured if the holding as defined in Article 2(a) of that Directive is known to the competent authority. Similar requirements result from the application of food law in relation to equidae as food-producing animals. However, due to the frequency of movements of equidae, in comparison with other livestock, it should not be attempted to establish a real-time habitual traceability of equidae. Identification of equidae should therefore be a first step of a system for the identification and registration of equidae to be completed in the framework of the New Community Animal Health Policy.(37)With a view to the uniform application of Community legislation on the identification of equidae in the Member States and to ensure that it is clear and transparent, Decisions 93/623/EEC and 2000/68/EC should be repealed and replaced by this Regulation.(38)Transitional measures should be provided for in order to allow the Member States to adapt to the rules laid down in this Regulation.(39)The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health and the Standing Committee on Zootechnics,HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: