S.I. No. 152/1995 - European Communities (Importation of Cattle From The United Kingdom) Regulations, 1995.

S.I. No. 152 of 1995.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (IMPORTATION OF CATTLE FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM) REGULATIONS, 1995.

I, IVAN YATES, Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972) and for the purpose of giving effect to Article 1 of Commission Decision 94/474/EC of 27 July 1994⁽¹⁾ hereby make the following Regulations:—

1 Citation and commencement.

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Importation of Cattle from the United Kingdom) Regulations, 1995.

(2) These Regulations shall come into operation on the 26th day of June, 1995.

2 Definitions.

2. (1) In these Regulations—

"authorised officer" means an authorised officer within the meaning of the European Communities (Trade in Animals and Animal Products) Regulations, 1994 ( S.I. No. 289 of 1994 );

"the Decision" means Commission Decision 94/474/EC of 27 July 1994 concerning certain protection measures relating to bovine spongiform encephalopathy and repealing Decisions 89/469/EEC and 90/200/EEC, as amended by Commission Decision 94/794/EC of 14 December 1994⁽²⁾;

"health certificate" means the health certificate referred to in Article 3.2(i) of Council Directive 64/432/EEC of 26 June 1964 on animal health problems affecting intra Community trade in bovine animals and swine⁽³⁾ as last amended by Council Directive 94/42/EC of 27 July 1994⁽⁴⁾;

⁽¹⁾O.J No. L 194 of 29.07.1994, p.96.

⁽²⁾O.J. No. L 325 of 17.12.1994, p.60.

⁽³⁾O.J No. 121 of 29.07.1964, p.1977/64.

⁽⁴⁾O.J No. L 201 of 4.08.1994, p.26.

"the Minister" means the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry.

(2) ( a ) In these Regulations a reference to a Regulation is to a Regulation of these Regulations, unless it appears that reference to some other provision is intended.

( b ) In these Regulations a reference to a paragraph is to the paragraph of the Regulation in which the reference occurs, unless it appears that reference to some other provision is intended.

(3) A word or expression that is used in these Regulations and is also used in the Decision has, unless the contrary intention appears, the meaning in these Regulations that it has in the Decision.

3 Prohibition on certain imports.

3. (1) A person shall not import from the United Kingdom—

( a ) live cattle other than those aged under six months bearing an identification mark in the form of a freeze brand or tattoo which mark must be acceptable to the competent authority of the United Kingdom for the purposes of the Decision, or

( b ) live cattle which are the offspring of cows in which bovine spongiform encephalopathy is suspected or confirmed.

(2) The provisions of paragraph (1) shall not apply to cattle born outside the United Kingdom and subsequently brought into the United Kingdom after 1 January 1991.

(3) A person shall not import live cattle from the United Kingdom unless they are accompanied at the time of importation by a health certificate which must be completed by the following statement—

"animals in accordance with Commission Decision 94/474/EC of 27 July 1994 concerning bovine spongiform encephalopathy".

(4) A person shall not import live cattle from the United Kingdom unless notice in writing of intended importation, specifying the number, species, country of origin, destination and estimated date and time of arrival of the animals, has been given to the Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, Dublin 2 at least 24 hours before the time of such importation.

4 Post import obligations.

4. A person who has imported live cattle aged under six months that were born in the United Kingdom from the United Kingdom shall—

(i) detain the animals at the place of destination indicated on the health certificate between the time of importation and the time when they are to be moved to a slaughterhouse for slaughter,

(ii) not move the animals to a slaughterhouse without the permission in writing of an authorised officer,

(iii) ensure that the animals are moved directly from the aforementioned place of detention to a slaughterhouse for slaughter, and

(iv) ensure that the animals are slaughtered there before the age of six months.

5 Powers of authorised officers.

5. (1) An authorised officer, if he is of the opinion that cattle that were born in the United Kingdom and that were imported in accordance with these Regulations have reached the age of 6 months or more or have been moved from the place of destination indicated on the health certificate without the permission in writing of an authorised officer, may

( a ) at all reasonable times, enter any premises, place or vehicle where he reasonably suspects such animals are held,

( b ) there search for and examine and inspect any animals found there,

( c ) take, without payment of compensation, any article as he may reasonably require for the purposes of his functions under these Regulations and carry out or have carried out examinations of such article as he reasonably considers necessary or expedient for the purposes of such functions,

( d ) require any person at the premises or place or on or in the vehicle and the owner or person in charge thereof and any person employed in connection therewith to give to him such information and to produce to him such books, certificates, documents and other records within the power or procurement of the person as he may reasonably require for the purposes of such functions,

( e ) seize and detain the animals found there if he reasonably suspects that an offence has been committed under Regulation 4 in respect of such animals,

( f ) seize and detain anything found there which he reasonably believes to be evidence of an offence under these Regulations.

(2) A person shall not, in purported compliance with a requirement under paragraph (1) (d), give information to an authorised officer that he knows to be false or misleading in a material respect.

(3) The cost of the detention of animals pursuant to paragraph (1) (e) may be recovered by the Minister from the person who was the importer or owner of the animals at the time of detention as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.

6 Action in case of non-compliance.

6. (1) Where an authorised officer is satisfied that cattle that were born in the United Kingdom and that were imported in accordance with these Regulations have reached the age of 6 months or more he may by notice served on the importer, owner or person in charge of the cattle direct that the cattle be

(i) exported to the United Kingdom, or

(ii) destroyed in such manner and at such place as the officer shall specify in the notice.

(2) A requirement specified in a notice under paragraph (1) may specify a time limit within which it is to be complied with.

(3) A requirement specified in a notice under paragraph (1) (in this paragraph referred to as "the earlier notice") may be modified or withdrawn by a further notice and in that event the earlier notice shall have effect subject to such modification or withdrawal.

(4) An authorised officer may take such steps as he considers necessary to ensure and check that the requirements of a notice served under this Regulation are complied with.

(5) All expenses arising from compliance with a notice served under this Regulation shall be borne by the importer, owner or person in charge of the cattle.

7 Forfeiture of animals.

7. (1) Where a requirement contained in a notice under paragraph (1) of Regulation 6 has not been fulfilled within the time limit specified in the notice an appropriate court may, on application by the Minister and at its discretion and where it is satisfied that an offence has been committed (whether or not any person has been convicted of the offence), order the forfeiture of the cattle.

(2) Any cattle ordered by the appropriate court to be forfeited under paragraph (1) shall be disposed of as the Minister thinks fit and any moneys arising from such disposal shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister for Finance shall direct.

(3) In this Regulation "appropriate court" means—

(i) in case the estimated value of the cattle to be forfeited does not exceed £5,000, the District Court,

(ii) in case the estimated value aforesaid does not exceed £30,000, the Circuit Court,

(iii) in any case, the High Court.

(4) An application under this Regulation shall be brought in a summary manner.

(5) An order shall not be made by a court under this Regulation unless the court is satisfied that in the circumstances all practicable steps have been taken to notify any person of the proceedings relating to the application for the order and who, in the opinion of the court, should be given the opportunity of being heard by it on that application.

(6) The court concerned may make such order as to the costs of the parties to or heard by the court in proceedings relating to an application for an order under this Regulation as it considers appropriate.

8 Application of veterinary checks Regulations.

8. These Regulations are in addition to and not in substitution for the European Communities (Trade in Animals and Animal Products) Regulations, 1994 ( S.I. No. 289 of 1994 ).

9 Penalties.

9. (1) A person who contravenes a provision of these Regulations shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.

(2) An offence under these Regulations may be prosecuted by the Minister.

(3) Where an offence under these Regulations is committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been so committed with the consent or connivance of or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of any person, being a director, manager, secretary or other officer of the body corporate, or a person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, that person, as well as the body corporate, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished as if he or she were guilty of the first-mentioned offence.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 7th day of June, 1995.

IVAN YATES,

Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations implement Article 1 of Commission Decision 94/474/EC of 27 July 1994, make it an offence to import cattle from the United Kingdom except in accordance with the Decision and specify the procedures to be followed when calves are imported from that country.