S.I. No. 257/1967 - Carriage of Pigs by Road Order, 1967.

S.I. No. 257 of 1967.

CARRIAGE OF PIGS BY ROAD ORDER, 1967.

I, NEIL T. BLANEY, Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by sections 28 and 48 of the Diseases of Animals Act, 1966 (No. 6 of 1966), hereby order as follows:

1. (1) This Order may be cited as the Carriage of Pigs by Road Order, 1967.

(2) This Order shall come into operation on the 1st day of February, 1968.

2. In this Order—

"pigs" include sows and boars;

"vehicle" means a mechanically propelled road vehicle and includes any trailer designed for attachment thereto;

"carrying-section" means the space provided for the carriage of animals (including pigs) in a vehicle to which this Order applies.

3. Subject to Article 4, this Order shall apply to a vehicle if and for so long as the vehicle is being used for the carriage of pigs.

4. (1) This Article applies to a vehicle to which this Order applies other than such a vehicle in which neither the length nor the breadth of the carrying-section at any point exceeds ten feet.

(2) The carrying-section of a vehicle to which this Article applies shall be divided into compartments so that neither the length nor the breadth of any such compartment at any point exceeds ten feet.

(3) Partitions fitted in a carrying-section for the purpose of complying with the requirements of paragraph (2) shall be of stout construction and shall reach from the floor to a height of at least three feet, but they may be removable.

(4) In case the carrying-section of a vehicle to which this Article applies is, for the purpose of complying with paragraph (2), fitted with a partition and the partition is removable, the partition shall be fitted in the carrying-section before it is used for the carriage of pigs and shall not be removed for so long as the vehicle is being used for the purpose aforesaid.

5. The floors of a carrying-section shall be unbroken and shall, for the purpose of preventing pigs slipping, be fitted with transverse battens not more than eighteen inches apart, or other suitable footholds, and shall be strewn with a sufficient quantity of litter or other suitable bedding material; provided that in the case of carrying-sections with wooden flooring, and subject to sufficient bedding material being used to prevent slipping, the use of battens or footholds may be dispensed with.

6. The floor and sides of a carrying-section shall be free from any angle brackets, projecting bolt-heads, nails, or other fittings or projections which might cause injury or suffering to pigs being carried in the carrying-section.

7. Carrying-sections shall be constructed so as to provide at all times both adequate ventilation and adequate means of inspection.

8. During severe heat or cold, heavy rain or other unsuitable weather conditions, carrying-sections shall be fitted with adequate covering to protect any pigs being carried therein.

9. (1) Subject to paragraph (3), vehicles to which this Order applies shall carry suitable loading and unloading equipment which shall be used when pigs are being loaded and unloaded; such equipment shall consist of a falling loading door, ramp or similar device which shall be fitted both with battens or other proper footholds and side rails or another similar means of protection.

(2) In the case of double-deck vehicles to which this Order applies loading and unloading equipment shall be provided for both the lower and upper carrying-sections of the vehicle and such equipment may, for the purpose of moving the pigs from the lower to the upper carrying-section and vice versa, consist of a suitable internal ramp or a similar device.

(3) (a) This Article shall apply neither in the case of a vehicle onto and from which pigs are both loaded and unloaded at points at each of which a ramp or other loading equipment is available and is used, nor in the case of a vehicle onto or off which pigs, all of which are under twelve weeks of age, are manually lifted.

(b) The provision of this Article requiring the use of suitable loading and unloading equipment shall not apply in relation to the loading or unloading of pigs under twelve weeks of age provided that such pigs are loaded or unloaded, as the case may be, by being manually lifted.

10. A pig shall not be carried in a vehicle to which this Order applies if owing to infirmity, injury, fatigue or any other cause it cannot be so carried without injury or unnecessary suffering during the intended journey or if, in the case of a female, parturition during such journey is probable.

11. Sows or boars, if carried in the same vehicle as other pigs, shall be separated from the other pigs by suitable partitioning, provided that this Article shall not be construed as preventing a sow and her litter from being carried in a single compartment.

12. No vehicle to which this Order applies shall be over-crowded or otherwise loaded so as to cause injury or unnecessary suffering to any pigs carried therein.

13. Pigs shall not be held in a stationary vehicle to which this Order applies for any continuous period of more than six hours between the hours of 6 p.m. on any day and 9 a.m. on the day immediately following.

14. Pigs in the course of transit in a vehicle shall be adequately fed and watered at intervals of not more than twelve hours.

15. Pigs shall not be kicked, beaten or roughly treated in the course of being loaded onto or unloaded from a vehicle to which this Order applies and the use of any instrument other than an electric goad for the purpose of loading pigs onto or unloading pigs from any such vehicle is hereby prohibited.

16. (1) The owner of a vehicle to which this Order applies shall ensure that the vehicle complies with the requirements of Articles 4, 5, 6, 7 and 9 and any omission by him in this respect is hereby declared to be an offence.

(2) The owner or other person who is for the time being in charge of a vehicle to which this Order applies shall ensure that the requirements of Article 8, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 are complied with and any omission by him in this respect is hereby declared to be an offence.

17. The provisions of the Order are in addition to and not in substitution for those contained in the Transit of Animals Order, 1927 (S. R. & O., No. 39 of 1927), as amended by the Transit of Animals Order, 1927 (Swine Fever) (Amendment) Order, 1958 ( S.I. No. 65 of 1958 .).

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 27th day of November, 1967.

NEIL T. BLANEY,

Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

This Order prescribes conditions governing the transport of pigs by road.