The Aquatic Animal Health (England and Wales) Regulations 2009

Year2009

2009 No. 463

Animal Health, England And Wales

The Aquatic Animal Health (England and Wales) Regulations 2009

Made 3rd March 2009

Laid before Parliament 5th March 2009

Coming into force in accordance with regulation 1

The Secretary of State and the Welsh Ministers are each designated1for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 19722in relation to the common agricultural policy of the European Community.

These Regulations make provision for purposes mentioned in that section and it appears to the Secretary of State and the Welsh Ministers that it is expedient for any reference to the following Community instruments to be construed as a reference to those instruments as amended from time to time:

(a) Commission Decision 2004/453/EC3on implementing Council Directive 91/67/EECas regards measures against certain diseases in aquaculture animals;

(b) Council Directive 2006/88/EC4on animal health requirements for aquaculture animals and products thereof, and on the prevention and control of certain diseases in aquatic animals; and

(c) Commission Regulation (EC) No.1251/20085on implementing Council Directive 2006/88/ECas regards conditions and certification requirements for the placing on the market and the import into the Community of aquaculture animals and products thereof and laying down a list of vector species.

The Secretary of State in relation to England and the Welsh Ministers in relation to Wales make these Regulations under the powers conferred by section 2(2) of, as read with paragraph 1A6of Schedule 2 to, the European Communities Act 1972.

1 General

PART 1

General

S-1 Title and commencement

Title and commencement

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Aquatic Animal Health (England and Wales) Regulations 2009.

(2) These Regulations come into force—

(a)

(a) for the purposes of regulation 5(1), on 1st May 2009;

(b)

(b) for the purposes of regulation 12(1), on 1st August 2009;

(c)

(c) for all other purposes, on 27th March 2009.

S-2 Extent and application

Extent and application

2.—(1) These Regulations extend to England and Wales.

(2) These Regulations do not apply to—

(a)

(a) any ornamental aquatic animal reared in a non-commercial aquarium;

(b)

(b) any aquatic animal caught for the purpose of production of fishmeal, fish feed, fish oil or any similar product;

(c)

(c) any wild aquatic animal harvested or caught for direct entry into the food chain other than one which is to be treated as an aquaculture animal under regulation 18(3).

S-3 Interpretation

Interpretation

3.—(1) In these Regulations—

“the competent authority” means, in relation to England, the Secretary of State, and, in relation to Wales, the Welsh Ministers;

“Decision 2004/453/EC” means Commission Decision 2004/453/ECon implementing Council Directive 91/67/EECas regards measures against certain diseases in aquaculture animals;

“Directive 2006/88/EC” means Council Directive 2006/88/ECon animal health requirements for aquaculture animals and products thereof, and on the prevention and control of certain diseases in aquatic animals;

“England” includes the sea adjacent to England to a distance of 12 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured;

“inspector” means any person authorised by the competent authority to be an inspector for the purposes of these Regulations;

“listed disease” means—

(a) a disease listed in the second column of Part II of Annex IV to Directive 2006/88/EC; or

(b) a disease listed in the first column of Schedule 1 to these Regulations;

“non-commercial installation” means any aquaculture production business in which aquatic animals are kept with no intention of placing them on the market;

“operator”, in relation to an aquaculture production business, a specialist transport business, processing establishment, non-commercial installation or put and take fishery, means any person who is responsible for the management of that business, establishment, installation or fishery;

“processing establishment” means any food business which is approved for processing aquaculture animals for food purposes in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No. 853/20047laying down specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin, and which processes aquaculture animals under Part 4 of these Regulations or any provision in any Regulations made in relation to Scotland or Northern Ireland which has equivalent effect to that Part;

Regulation (EC) No.1251/2008” means Commission Regulation (EC) No.1251/2008 on implementing Directive 2006/88/ECas regards conditions and certification requirements for the placing on the market and the import into the Community of aquaculture animals and products thereof and laying down a list of vector species;

“specialist transport business” means a business or undertaking which wholly or mainly transports live aquaculture animals in a mode of transport specially designed or adapted for that purpose; and

“Wales” has the meaning given in section 158 of the Government of Wales Act 2006.

(2) Any expression used in these Regulations which is also used in Directive 2006/88/EC(except for the definitions of “operator” and “processing establishment” in paragraph (1) and “wild aquatic animal” in regulation 18(5)) has the meaning it bears in that Directive.

(3) References to Decision 2004/453/EC, Directive 2006/88/ECand Regulation (EC) No.1251/2008 are references to those instruments as amended from time to time.

(4) Schedule 1 (list of diseases) has effect.

2 Authorisation and registration requirements

PART 2

Authorisation and registration requirements

S-4 Application of Part 2

Application of Part 2

4. This Part does not apply where any ornamental aquatic animal is kept in any pet shop, garden centre, garden pond, commercial aquarium or with any wholesaler—

(a) without any direct contact with natural waters; or

(b) that is equipped with an effluent treatment system reducing the risk of transmitting diseases to such waters to an acceptable level;

unless the animal is kept by a person who has introduced it into England or Wales.

S-5 Authorisation

Authorisation

5.—(1) Subject to regulation 14, it is an offence to operate an aquaculture production business or a processing establishment unless the business or establishment is authorised by the competent authority.

(2) The competent authority may grant an authorisation in relation to two or more aquaculture production businesses which are situated in one mollusc farming area, provided the businesses relate exclusively to molluscs.

(3) But a dispatch centre, purification centre or similar business in a mollusc farming area must be separately authorised.

(4) The requirement for a non-commercial installation or put and take fishery to be authorised under paragraph (1) only applies where the competent authority—

(a)

(a) considers that authorisation is necessary to prevent or limit the spread of disease; and

(b)

(b) serves the operator with a written notice to that effect.

(5) Where the operator is served with a notice under paragraph (4)(b), the operator must apply for authorisation under regulation 8(1) within 28 days of the service.

(6) Where the operator so applies, the operator is to be treated as having, as from the date of the application, an interim authorisation to carry on the activity to which the application relates until the interim authorisation lapses on the earliest of the dates mentioned in regulation 14(3).

S-6 Authorisation conditions for aquaculture production businesses

Authorisation conditions for aquaculture production businesses

6.—(1) The competent authority may grant an authorisation to an aquaculture production business, subject to such conditions as it considers appropriate, where it is satisfied that the operation of the business will not lead to an unacceptable risk of spreading disease.

(2) It is a condition of an authorisation that the aquaculture production business must—

(a)

(a) keep a record, in such form and manner as the competent authority may specify, of—

(i) the movement of any aquaculture animal or any aquaculture animal product into or out of the premises of the business;

(ii) the number of any aquaculture animals that have died in each epidemiological unit within the premises;

(iii) the results of any surveillance carried out by the business; and

(iv) the results of any surveillance carried out by the competent authority which have been notified to the business;

(b)

(b) follow good hygiene practice; and

(c)

(c) comply with any surveillance requirement imposed by the authority.

S-7 Authorisation conditions for processing establishments

Authorisation conditions for processing establishments

7.—(1) The competent authority may grant an authorisation to a processing establishment, subject to such conditions as it considers appropriate, where it is satisfied that the operation of the establishment will not lead to an unacceptable risk of spreading disease.

(2) It is a condition of an authorisation that the processing establishment must—

(a)

(a) keep a record, in such form and manner as the competent authority may specify, of the movement of any aquaculture animal or any aquaculture animal product into or out of the premises of the establishment; and

(b)

(b) follow good hygiene practice.

S-8 Application for an authorisation

Application for an authorisation

8.—(1) An application for an authorisation must be in such form and contain such information as the competent authority may reasonably require.

(2) The competent authority must serve an applicant with a written notice of the result of the application within 90 days of receiving it.

(3) Where the competent authority grants an authorisation, it must notify the applicant of the following—

(a)

(a) the duration of the authorisation;

(b)

(b) any condition to which it is subject; and

(c)

(c) an authorisation number.

(4) Where the competent authority refuses to grant an authorisation, or grants an authorisation subject to any...

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