Regulation 2009/119 - List of third countries or parts thereof, for imports into, or transit through, the EC of meat of wild leporidae, of certain wild land mammals and of farmed rabbits and the veterinary certification requirements - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 39/12

Commission Decision 2000/585/EC (6) draws up a list of third countries from which Member States are to authorise imports of rabbit meat and certain wild and farmed game meat, and lays down the animal and public health and the veterinary certification conditions for such imports.

In the interests of consistency of Community legislation, Community rules for imports of meat of wild leporidae, of certain wild land mammals and of farmed rabbits should take into account the public health requirements laid down in Regulations (EC) No 852/2004, (EC) No 853/2004, (EC) No 854/2004 and (EC) No 882/2004.

The measures provided for in this Regulation shall be without prejudice to legislation implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 of 9 December 1996 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein (7).

With a view to harmonising Community conditions for imports into the Community of the commodities concerned, as well as making them more transparent and simplifying the legislative procedure for amending such conditions, those conditions should be set out in the appropriate model veterinary certificates set out in this Regulation.

The veterinary certificates for imports into and transit, including storage during transit, through the Community of meat of wild leporidae, of certain wild land mammals and of farmed rabbits should comply with the appropriate standard models set out in Annex I to Commission Decision 2007/240/EC of 16 April 2007 laying down new veterinary certificates for importing live animals, semen, embryos, ova and products of animal origin into the Community pursuant to Decisions 79/542/EEC, 92/260/EEC, 93/195/EEC, 93/196/EEC, 93/197/EEC, 95/328/EC, 96/333/EC, 96/539/EC, 96/540/EC, 2000/572/EC, 2000/585/EC, 2000/666/EC, 2002/613/EC, 2003/56/EC, 2003/779/EC, 2003/804/EC, 2003/858/EC, 2003/863/EC, 2003/881/EC, 2004/407/EC, 2004/438/EC, 2004/595/EC, 2004/639/EC and 2006/168/EC (8).

The model veterinary certificates, set out in this Regulation, for imports into and transit, including storage during transit, through the Community of meat of wild leporidae, of certain wild land mammals and of farmed rabbits should also be compatible with the Traces system, as provided for in Commission Decision 2004/292/EC of 30 March 2004 on the introduction of the Traces system (9).

The list of third countries or parts thereof, listed in Annex II to Council Decision 79/542/EEC (10) should be used for imports into, or transit through, the Community of meat of wild leporidae and of farmed rabbits. The list of countries should be laid down for imports into or transit through, the Community of meat of wild land mammals other than ungulates and leporidae.

Specific conditions for transit via the Community of consignments to and from Russia should be provided for, owing to the geographical situation of Kaliningrad which only concerns Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

To avoid any disruption of trade, the use of the veterinary certificates issued in accordance with Decision 2000/585/EC should be authorised during a transitional period.

In the interests of clarity of Community legislation, Commission Decision 2000/585/EC should be repealed and replaced by this Regulation.

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,

a list of third countries or parts thereof from which the following commodities may be imported into, or transit through the Community:

the veterinary certification requirements for the commodities listed in points (i), (ii) and (iii) (the commodities).

specific certification requirements provided for in Community agreements with third countries;

the relevant rules on certification contained within legislation implementing Regulation (EC) No 338/97 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein.

the consignment is sealed with a serially numbered seal by the official veterinarian at the border inspection post of entry;

the documents accompanying the consignment, as provided for in Article 7 of Directive 97/78/EC, are stamped with the words ‘Only for transit to Russia via the EC’ on each page by the official veterinarian at the border inspection post of entry;

the procedural requirements provided for in Article 11 of Directive 97/78/EC are complied with;

the consignment is certified as acceptable for transit on the common veterinary entry document issued by the official veterinarian at the border inspection post of entry.

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Model veterinary certificate for meat of wild leporidae (rabbits and hares)

Veterinary certificates based on the models in Part 2 of this Annex and following the layout of the model that corresponds to the commodity concerned shall be issued by the exporting third country or part thereof. They shall contain, in the order appearing in the model, the attestations that are required for any third country and, where applicable, those additional health requirements required for the exporting third country or part thereof.

Where additional guarantees are required by the Member State of destination for the commodity concerned, these shall also be entered on the original of the veterinary certificate.

A separate, single certificate must be presented for each consignment of the commodity concerned, exported to the same destination from a territory appearing in column 2 of the table in Part 1 of this Annex and transported in the same railway wagon, lorry, aircraft or ship.

The original of certificates shall consist of a single page printed on both sides or, where more text is required, such that all the pages form a whole and cannot be separated.

The certificate shall be drawn up in at least one official language of the Member State where the border inspection takes place and in one official language of the Member State of destination. However, those Member States may allow another Community language instead of their own, accompanied, if necessary, by an official translation.

Where additional pages are attached to the certificate for the purposes of identifying the items making up the consignment, such additional pages shall also be considered to form part of the original of the certificate, provided the signature and stamp of the certifying official veterinarian appear on each page.

Where the certificate, including any additional pages as provided for in (e), comprises more than one page, each page shall be numbered ‘–x (page number) of y (total number of pages)–’ on the bottom and shall bear the code number of the certificate allocated by the competent authority on the top.

The original of the certificate must be completed and signed by an official veterinarian not more than 24 hours prior to loading of the consignment for imports into the Community, unless otherwise stated in the Community legislation. To that end, the competent authority of the exporting third country shall ensure that principles of certification equivalent to those laid down in Council Directive 96/93/EC (1) are followed.

The colour of the signature shall be different from that of the printing. The same rule shall apply to stamps other than embossed stamps.

The original of the certificate must accompany the consignment as far as the border inspection post of entry into the European Community.