Cattle Identification (No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998

In these Regulations—

• “the 1964 Order” means the Tuberculosis Control Order (Northern Ireland) 1964^f1;

• “approved eartag” means an eartag which is approved by the Department for the purposes of Article 4.1 of the Council Regulation and which complies with that Article, with Article 1.1 and 1.2 of the Commission Regulation and with the requirements of regulations 3(3) and 4;.

• “the Council Regulation” means Council Regulation 820/97 establishing a system for the identification and registration of bovine animals and regarding the labelling of beef and beef products^f2;

• “the Commission Regulation” means Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2629/97^f3; and

• “member State” means any member State of the European Community other than the United Kingdom.

In these Regulations, other expressions which are also used in the Cattle Identification (Enforcement) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998^f4 shall have the same meaning as in those Regulations.

The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954^f5 shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to a Measure of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Any approval, licence or notice given to any person under these Regulations, the Council Regulation or the Commission Regulation—

The Department—

The person responsible for identifying an animal in accordance with Article 4.1 of the Council Regulation shall be its keeper.

Subject to paragraph (4), for the purposes of Article 4.2 of the Council Regulation, the periods within which the keeper of an animal born after the coming into operation of these Regulations shall attach approved eartags to the animal shall—

For the purposes of Article 4.2 of the Council Regulation, the periods within which the keeper of an animal born after 1st January 1998 but before the coming into operation of these Regulations shall attach approved eartags to the animal shall be—

and, in any event, before the animal leaves the holding on which it was kept on the date of coming into operation of these Regulations.

Any person who, in relation to any animal, fails to comply with Article 4.1 of the Council Regulation within the period specified in respect of that animal by paragraph (3) or (4) shall be guilty of an offence.

A person shall not attach eartags to any animal unless they are approved.

In accordance with Article 1.1 and 1.2 of the Commission Regulation, both of the approved eartags attached to any animal shall be inscribed with the logo specified in the Schedule, the letters “UK”, the unique number allocated in relation to the animal by the Department for the purpose and, in the case of a two-piece eartag, both pieces of the eartag shall bear the logo.

The power granted by Article 4 of the Commission Regulation (a power to choose other material or model for the second eartag) may be exercised in relation to any animal in Northern Ireland by the Department.

Subject to paragraph (2), any person who moves an animal or causes or permits an animal to be moved from a holding in breach of the third indent of Article 4.2 of the Council Regulation shall be guilty of an offence.

An animal which is at a market or a slaughterhouse without eartags attached to it in accordance with Article 4.1 of the Council Regulation or, where appropriate, eartags attached to it in accordance with the 1964 Order may be moved from that market or slaughterhouse under a licence granted to the keeper by the Department to a holding specified in the licence.

Subject to paragraph (2), any person who removes or causes or permits to be removed from any animal—

shall be guilty of an offence.

Nothing in paragraph (1) shall prevent a person from removing an eartag from an animal under and in accordance with this regulation or with regulation 12(3) or (5).

If the keeper of an animal (other than the operator of a slaughterhouse) discovers that the characters on an approved eartag attached to that animal have become illegible or that eartag has been lost, he shall, within 28 days of the discovery and in any event before the animal leaves his holding, replace it with an approved eartag of the same type and bearing the same number.

If the operator of a slaughterhouse discovers that an animal, which should have been identified by eartags in accordance with Article 4.1 of the Council Regulation or the 1964 Order, is not so identified, he shall notify the Department of that fact and shall ensure that the animal is not slaughtered for human consumption unless—

If the keeper of an animal discovers that the characters on an eartag attached to it in accordance with the provisions of the 1964 Order have become illegible or that eartag has been lost, he shall, within 28 days of the discovery and in any event before the animal leaves his holding, attach approved eartags to that animal.

If an animal brought into Northern Ireland from a member State, Great Britain, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands loses its eartag or if the characters on that eartag have become illegible the keeper shall, within 28 days of the discovery, attach to that animal either—

Any person who contravenes paragraphs (3) to (6) shall be guilty of an offence.

A person shall not consign any animal for intra-Community trade unless—

Any person who contravenes paragraph (1) shall be guilty of an offence.

Any person who, in contravention of Article 4.3 of the Council Regulation, fails to attach eartags to an animal imported from a third country within 20 days of the animal passing the checks specified in Council Directive 91/496/EEC (laying down the principles governing the organisation of veterinary checks on animals entering the Community)^f1 shall be guilty of an offence.

It shall be a defence for any person charged with an offence under paragraph (1) to prove that—

In accordance with Article 1.1 and 1.2 of the Commission Regulation, a keeper may continue to identify an animal using eartags which comply with the requirements of the 1964 Order until 31st December 1998 provided that he does so in accordance with this regulation.

Where an animal is identified in accordance with this regulation—

In these Regulations any reference to an eartag attached to any animal in accordance with the 1964 Order includes an eartag authorised for use under this regulation.

Any person who purports to identify an animal for the purposes of paragraph (1) without complying with all the requirements of paragraph (2) shall be guilty of an offence.

The operator of a market shall ensure that cattle are not accepted into the market for sale, or are sold at a market, unless they are identified with eartags in accordance with Article 4.1 of the Council Regulation or the 1964 Order or are accompanied by a licence granted under regulation 5(2).

If the operator of any market accepts into the market any cattle which fail to meet the requirements of paragraph (1), he shall be guilty of an offence.

Subject to paragraph (2), the operator of a slaughterhouse shall not accept any animal into that slaughterhouse, or slaughter it, unless—

If an animal is slaughtered in contravention of paragraph (1), the operator of the slaughterhouse shall dispose of the carcase of the animal as an animal by-product in accordance with the Animal By-Products Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993^f1 unless the Department, on being satisfied as to the identity of the animal concerned, certifies the carcase as fit for human consumption.

The operator of a slaughterhouse shall—

It shall be the duty of the operator of a slaughterhouse to present to a veterinary inspector on request any animal which has been admitted to the slaughterhouse and afford to him all reasonable facilities for the purpose of inspecting it and, if necessary, removing any eartag from it.

The Department may authorise in writing any person operating a knackery, hide store or hunt kennel to remove any eartag from any carcase in his possession, and upon being so authorised that person shall—

The person operating a slaughterhouse shall mark or cause to have marked each animal or carcase admitted to those premises, and after an animal is slaughtered, the carcase of that animal, in a manner considered by the Department to be sufficient to identify at any time the animal or carcase from which the eartag has been removed in accordance with paragraph (3).

Any person who fails to comply with any provision of this regulation shall be guilty of an offence.

Where—

the keeper shall, before so doing, either—

Any person who fails to comply with paragraph (1) shall be guilty of an offence.

An inspector shall, on producing, if required to do so, some duly authenticated document showing his authority, have the right at all reasonable hours to enter any land or premises (other than domestic premises not being used for any purpose to which these Regulations apply) for the purposes of ascertaining whether there is or has been on the premises any contravention of these Regulations.

An inspector exercising powers under paragraph (1) shall have powers to carry out all checks and examinations necessary for the enforcement of the Council Regulation, and in particular may—

In accordance with the second indent of Article 21 of the Council Regulation and the first indent of Article 1 of Commission Regulation (EC) No. 494/98^f1, an officer of the Department may serve a notice on a keeper of animals on a holding restricting the movement of cattle from the holding if he is satisfied that this is necessary for the proper enforcement of either Regulation.

An officer of the Department may seize an animal in order to carry out the requirements laid down in the second indent of Article 1 of Commission Regulation (EC) No. 494/98.

Any person who fails to comply with a notice given to him under paragraph (1) shall be guilty of an offence.

A person shall not—

and any person who contravenes this regulation shall be guilty of an offence.

Nothing in paragraph (1)(b) shall be construed as requiring any person to answer any question or give any information if to do so might incriminate him.

A person guilty of an offence under regulation 16(1)(a) or (b) shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to both.

A person guilty of any other offence under these Regulations shall be liable—

Articles 14, 14A, 14B, 15, 16 and 17 of the 1964 Order^f1 are hereby revoked.

Regulations 3(1)(a) and (b) of the Cattle Identification (Enforcement) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998^f2 are hereby revoked.