Regulation 2 Interpretation

In these Regulations—

• “authorised person” has the meaning given in Article 3(d) of the Pets Regulation;

• “competent authority” means—

  1. (a)

     in relation to England, the Secretary of State;

  2. (b)

     in relation to Scotland, the Scottish Ministers;

  3. (c)

     in relation to Wales, the Welsh Ministers;

  4. (d)

     in relation to Northern Ireland, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs;

  5. (e)

     in relation to any nation in paragraphs (a) to (d), any organisation or body designated by the respective competent authority in paragraphs (a) to (d);

• “database operator” means an operator of a database under—

  1. (a)

     the Microchipping of Dogs (Wales) Regulations 2015^f1;

  2. (b)

     the Microchipping of Dogs (Scotland) Regulations 2016^f2; or

  3. (c)

     the Microchipping of Cats and Dogs (England) Regulations 2023^f3;

• “declaration” means a signed declaration as required by Article 12(1)(e) of the SPS Regulation, and which forms part of the pet travel document;

• “documentary check” means verification of the pet travel document accompanying the pet animal in accordance with Part 3;

• “identity check” means verification for consistency between the pet travel document and the pet animal, including any transponder, in accordance with Part 3;

• “non-commercial movement” has the meaning given in Article 3(a) of the Pets Regulation;

• “Northern Ireland Pet Travel Scheme” means the scheme established by these Regulations for the non-commercial movement of pet animals from Great Britain to Northern Ireland under paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 12 of the SPS Regulation;

• “owner” means a natural person indicated as the owner in the pet travel document;

• “pet animal” means an animal of a species listed in Part A of Annex 1 to the Pets Regulation accompanying its owner or an authorised person during non-commercial movement, and which remains for the duration of such non-commercial movement under the responsibility of the owner or the authorised person;

• “pet travel document” means a paper or electronic document which includes a declaration and which is issued by the competent authorities of the United Kingdom for the non-commercial movement of pet animals entering into Northern Ireland from other parts of the United Kingdom;

• “SPS inspection facility” has the meaning given in Article 2(18) of the SPS Regulation;

• “the Pets Regulation” means Regulation (EU) No 576/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 June 2013 on the non-commercial movement of pet animals^f4;

• “the SPS Regulation” means Regulation (EU) 2023/1231 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2023 on specific rules relating to the entry into Northern Ireland from other parts of the United Kingdom of certain consignments of retail goods, plants for planting, seed potatoes, machinery and certain vehicles operated for agricultural or forestry purposes, as well as non-commercial movements of certain pet animals into Northern Ireland^f5;

• “transponder” means a read-only passive radio frequency identification device that complies with the technical requirements set out in Annex II to the Pets Regulation.