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The Poultry Breeding Flocks and Hatcheries (England) Order 2007

S.I. 2007/405 · Made 14 February 2007

Original text. legislation.gov.uk does not revise statutory instruments, so later amendments are not shown here. Changes made to it are listed under each provision when known.

animals, england

animal health

Made 14th February 2007

Coming into force 7th March 2007

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 1 and 8 of the Animal Health Act 1981f1 and now vested in him, makes the following Order:

Annotations to the whole text

Footnotes

f1

1981 c.22. Functions conferred under the 1981 Act on “the Ministers” (as defined in section 86 of that Act) were transferred, so far as exercisable by the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Wales, to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food by the Transfer of Functions (Agriculture and Food) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/3141) and were then further transferred to the Secretary of State by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Dissolution) Order 2002 (S.I. 2002/794).

Contents

  1. Part 1: Introduction
  2. 1Title, commencement and application
  3. 2Interpretation
  4. 3Competent authority
  5. Part 2: Notification of hatcheries and breeding flocks
  6. 4Notification of hatcheries
  7. 5Notification of breeding flocks
  8. Part 3: Control of salmonella in Gallus gallus
  9. Chapter 1: Duties of an occupier
  10. 6Application of Chapter 1
  11. 7Notification of arrival of breeding flocks
  12. 8Notification of movement to laying phase etc.
  13. 9Sampling of breeding flocks
  14. 10Submission of samples to an approved laboratory
  15. 11Records of samples
  16. 12Records of movements
  17. Chapter 2: Duties of approved laboratories
  18. 13Duties of an approved laboratory
  19. Chapter 3: Use of antimicrobials and vaccines
  20. 14Prohibition on the use of antimicrobials
  21. 15Prohibition on the use of vaccines
  22. Part 4: Miscellaneous
  23. 16Hatchery records
  24. 17Production of records
  25. 18Tampering with samples
  26. 19Powers of Secretary of State in cases of default
  27. 20Enforcement
  28. 21Revocation
  29. Signature
  30. Schedule 1: Hatchery and breeding flock information
  31. 1Information in relation to hatcheries
  32. 2Information in relation to breeding flocks
  33. Schedule 2: Sampling of breeding flocks
  34. 1Sampling of chicks
  35. 2Sampling of four-week-old birds etc.
  36. Schedule 3: Record-keeping requirements
  37. 1Samples
  38. 2Movements of domestic fowl of the species Gallus gallus to and from holdings
  39. 3Movements of eggs to and from a hatchery
  40. 4Movements of chicks from a hatchery
  41. Schedule 4: Preparation of chick box liners
  42. 1Preparation of the samples
  43. Explanatory note

1Title, commencement and application

This Order—

(a)

may be cited as the Poultry Breeding Flocks and Hatcheries (England) Order 2007;

(b)

comes into force on 7th March 2007; and

(c)

applies in England.

2Interpretation

In this Order—

  • “approved laboratory” means a laboratory approved by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order;

  • “breeding flock” means a flock kept for the production of eggs intended for incubation;

  • “building” includes a shed and any part of a building that has its own ventilation system and is separated from other parts of the building by a solid partition;

  • “chick” means a bird less than 72 hours old that has not been fed;

  • “flock” means poultry of the same health status kept on the same holding or in the same enclosure and constituting a single epidemiological unit and, in the case of housed poultry, includes all birds sharing the same airspace;

  • “layer breeder” means poultry kept for the production of eggs intended for the incubation and hatching of chicks—

    1. (a)

      that will be grown to produce eggs for human consumption, or

    2. (b)

      whose progeny will be grown to produce eggs for human consumption;

  • “meat breeder” means poultry kept for the production of eggs intended for the incubation and hatching of chicks—

    1. (a)

      that will be grown to produce meat for human consumption, or

    2. (b)

      whose progeny will be grown to produce meat for human consumption;

  • “occupier” means, in relation to any hatchery or holding, the person in charge of the hatchery or holding;

  • “poultry” means domestic fowls, turkeys, geese and ducks.

3Competent authority

The Secretary of State is the competent authority for the purposes of—

(a)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1003/2005 implementing Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003 as regards a Community target for the reduction of the prevalence of certain salmonella serotypes in breeding flocks of Gallus gallus and amending Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003f1 (in this Order, referred to as “the Commission Regulation”); and

(b)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1177/2006 implementing Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards requirements for the use of specific control methods in the framework of the national programmes for the control of salmonella in poultryf2 (in this Order, referred to as “Commission Regulation 1177/2006”).

4Notification of hatcheries

(1)

The occupier of a poultry hatchery with a total incubator capacity of 1000 eggs or more must notify the Secretary of State of the information in Schedule 1, paragraph 1—

(a)

within three months of the coming into force of this Order; or

(b)

in the case of such a hatchery established after the date this Order comes into force, within three months of the establishment of the hatchery.

(2)

The occupier must notify the Secretary of State of any change or addition to that information within three months of the change or addition.

(3)

This article does not apply to any occupier who has notified the Secretary of State of that information under any other enactment.

5Notification of breeding flocks

(1)

The occupier of a holding on which one or more breeding flocks of at least 250 poultry of any single species are kept must notify the Secretary of State of the information in Schedule 1, paragraph 2—

(a)

within three months of the coming into force of this Order; or

(b)

in the case of such a holding established after the date this Order comes into force, within three months of the establishment of the holding.

(2)

The occupier must notify the Secretary of State of any change or addition to that information within three months of the change or addition.

(3)

This article does not apply to any occupier who has notified the Secretary of State of that information under any other enactment.

6Application of Chapter 1

This Chapter applies in relation to any holding on which one or more breeding flocks of at least 250 domestic fowl of the species Gallus gallus are kept, and any reference in this Chapter to an occupier is a reference to an occupier of such a holding.

7Notification of arrival of breeding flocks

(1)

The occupier must notify the Secretary of State of the expected date of arrival at the holding of every breeding flock of at least 250 domestic fowl of the species Gallus gallus.

(2)

The notification must be made at least two weeks before the expected date of arrival.

8Notification of movement to laying phase etc.

(1)

The occupier must notify the Secretary of State of the date that he expects each breeding flock on the holding to—

(a)

move to the laying phase or laying unit; and

(b)

reach the end of the production cycle.

(2)

The notification must be made at least two weeks before the breeding flock is expected to move to the laying phase or laying unit.

9Sampling of breeding flocks

(1)

The occupier must take samples from each breeding flock on the holding at the following times—

(a)

when the birds in the flock are chicks;

(b)

when the birds in the flock are four weeks old;

(c)

two weeks before the date the flock is expected to come into lay or move to the laying phase or laying unit; and

(d)

every second week during the laying period.

(2)

Sampling under paragraph (1)(a) to (c) must be done in accordance with Schedule 2 to this Order and sampling under paragraph (1)(d) must be done in accordance with point 2.2.2.1 of the Annex to the Commission Regulation (routine sampling at the initiative of the operator).

10Submission of samples to an approved laboratory

(1)

The occupier must dispatch the samples taken under article 9 to an approved laboratory for the purposes of testing for the presence of salmonella.

(2)

He must dispatch the samples within—

(a)

24 hours of being taken; or

(b)

48 hours of being taken if he places the samples in a refrigerator at a temperature of between 1° and 4° C as soon as practicable on the day they are taken.

(3)

He must ensure that the samples are identified prior to dispatch so as to enable the approved laboratory to determine—

(a)

the name of the occupier;

(b)

the address of the holding on which the breeding flock from which the samples were taken are kept;

(c)

the type of samples;

(d)

the date on which the samples were taken;

(e)

the identification of the breeding flock sampled;

(f)

the age of the breeding flock sampled;

(g)

whether the breeding flock from which the samples were taken is a flock of layer breeders or meat breeders; and

(h)

the status in the breeding pyramid of the breeding flock from which the samples were taken.

11Records of samples

(1)

The occupier must—

(a)

keep a record of the information in Schedule 3, paragraph 1, in respect of each sample taken in accordance with article 9; and

(b)

by 30th June and 31st December each year, notify the Secretary of State of that information in respect of sampling undertaken in the six months prior to notification.

(2)

He must keep the record in paragraph (1)(a) for two years from the date the sample was taken.

12Records of movements

(1)

The occupier must keep a record of the information in Schedule 3, paragraph 2, in respect of the movement to and from the holding of any domestic fowl of the species Gallus gallus or their chicks or eggs.

(2)

He must keep the record for two years from the date of the movement.

13Duties of an approved laboratory

(1)

The person in charge of an approved laboratory must ensure that the examination of samples submitted to it under article 10 begins within 48 hours of receipt of those samples.

(2)

He must ensure that—

(a)

the samples are prepared as follows—

(i)

chick box liners must be prepared in accordance with Schedule 4 to this Order;

(ii)

boot swabs’ samples must be prepared in accordance with point 3.1.2 of the Annex to the Commission Regulation; and

(iii)

any other samples of faeces must be prepared in accordance with point 3.1.3 of that Annex;

(b)

the samples are tested for salmonella in accordance with the method in point 3.2 of that Annex; and

(c)

the result of any test on any sample is reported in writing as soon as practicable to the occupier who submitted it.

14Prohibition on the use of antimicrobials

No person may administer any antimicrobial to any bird in a breeding flock of domestic fowl of the species Gallus gallus as a specific method to control salmonella in breach of Article 2 of Commission Regulation 1177/2006 (use of antimicrobials).

15Prohibition on the use of vaccines

No person may administer any live salmonella vaccine to any bird in a breeding flock of domestic fowl of the species Gallus gallus in breach of Article 3(1) of Commission Regulation 1177/2006 (use of vaccines).

16Hatchery records

(1)

The occupier of a hatchery with a total incubator capacity of 1000 eggs or more and containing domestic fowl of the species Gallus gallus or their eggs must keep a record of—

(a)

the information in Schedule 3, paragraph 3, in respect of the movement of any eggs of domestic fowl of the species Gallus gallus to and from the hatchery; and

(b)

the information in Schedule 3, paragraph 4, in respect of the movement of any chicks of domestic fowl of the species Gallus gallus from the hatchery.

(2)

He must keep the record for two years from the date of the movement.

17Production of records

Any person required to keep a record under this Order must produce it to an inspector or officer of the Secretary of State on demand at any reasonable time and allow a copy of it to be made or an extract from it to be taken.

18Tampering with samples

A person must not tamper with a sample or do anything to it that is likely to affect the result of any test required to be carried out under this Order, except as provided for in this Order.

19Powers of Secretary of State in cases of default

If any person fails to take any action under this Order, an inspector may take, or cause to be taken, such action and his expenses reasonably incurred are recoverable by the Secretary of State from the person in default.

20Enforcement

(1)

This Order is enforced by the local authority.

(2)

The Secretary of State may direct, in relation to cases of a particular description or any particular case, that he will enforce this Order instead of the local authority.

21Revocation

The Poultry Breeding Flocks and Hatcheries Order 1993f1 is revoked in relation to England.

Signature

Ben Bradshaw

Minister of State

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

14th February 2007

1Information in relation to hatcheries

The information to be notified is—

(a)

the name, address and telephone number of the occupier;

(b)

the address and telephone number of the hatchery;

(c)

the incubator capacity of the hatchery; and

(d)

the species of poultry hatched at the hatchery.

2Information in relation to breeding flocks

The information to be notified is—

(a)

the name, address and telephone number of the holding;

(b)

the name, address and telephone number of the occupier and of the person who owns each breeding flock on the holding;

(c)

the number of breeding flocks on the holding;

(d)

the identification of each breeding flock on the holding;

(e)

the species in each breeding flock on the holding;

(f)

the number of poultry in each breeding flock on the holding;

(g)

whether the poultry in each breeding flock on the holding are layer breeders or meat breeders; and

(h)

the status of each breeding flock on the holding in the breeding pyramid.

1Sampling of chicks

(1)

The following samples are to be taken when the birds are chicks—

(a)

1 chick box liner, up to a maximum of 10, for every 500 chicks delivered from the hatchery; and

(b)

the carcases of all chicks, up to a maximum of 60, from each hatchery that are dead on arrival at the holding.

(2)

In this paragraph, “chick box liner” means any material used to line a box or other container in which chicks are transported from the hatchery to the holding.

2Sampling of four-week-old birds etc.

(1)

The following samples are to be taken from each flock of four-week-old birds and each flock two weeks before it comes into lay or moves to the laying phase or laying unit—

(a)

a minimum of two pairs of boot swabs; or

(b)

a composite faeces sample.

(2)

In this paragraph, “a composite faeces sample” means a sample of faeces consisting of a number of individual samples calculated in accordance with the following Table, each of which weighs not less than 1 gram and is taken from a site selected at random to represent the building or group of buildings on the holding from which it is taken.

Table

The number of sites from which separate faeces samples are to be taken in order to make a composite sample are as follows—

Number of birds kept in a buildingNumber of faeces samples to be taken in the building
1-24Number equal to the number of birds, up to a maximum of 20
25-2920
30-3925
40-4930
50-5935
60-8940
90-19950
200-49955
500 or more60

1Samples

The information to be recorded is—

(a)

the type of sample taken;

(b)

the date on which the sample was taken;

(c)

the identification of the breeding flock from which the sample was taken;

(d)

the age of the breeding flock sampled;

(e)

the approved laboratory to which the sample was sent; and

(f)

the result of any test on any sample reported to the occupier in accordance with article 13(2)(c).

2Movements of domestic fowl of the species Gallus gallus to and from holdings

The information to be recorded is—

(a)

the date of the movement;

(b)

the number of domestic fowl, chicks or eggs moved;

(c)

the age of the domestic fowl or chicks moved;

(d)

in the case of the movement of an entire breeding flock of domestic fowl, the identification of that flock;

(e)

the identity of the building or group of buildings into which any domestic fowl, chicks or eggs moved to the holding were placed or from which domestic fowl, chicks or eggs were moved from the holding;

(f)

in the case of any domestic fowl, chicks or eggs moved to the holding, the address from which they were moved to the holding; and

(g)

in the case of any domestic fowl, chicks or eggs moved from the holding, the address to which they were moved.

3Movements of eggs to and from a hatchery

The information to be recorded is—

(a)

the date of the movement;

(b)

the number of eggs moved;

(c)

the address of the premises from which the eggs were moved, in the case of eggs moved to the hatchery; and

(d)

the address of the premises to which the eggs were moved, in the case of eggs moved from the hatchery.

4Movements of chicks from a hatchery

The information to be recorded is—

(a)

the date of the movement;

(b)

the number of chicks moved; and

(c)

the address of the premises to which the chicks were moved.

1Preparation of the samples

Chick box liners must be prepared as follows—

(a)

a minimum 1 gram portion is to be taken from a soiled area on each liner; and

(b)

the portions from separate liners must be bulked together and placed in Buffered Peptone Water (BPW) at the rate of not more than 1 gram of liner for every 10 ml of BPW.

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order revokes and remakes the Poultry Breeding Flocks and Hatcheries Order 1993 (S.I. 1993/1898).

Article 4 requires the occupier of a poultry hatchery with a total incubator capacity of 1000 eggs or more to notify the Secretary of State. Article 5 requires the occupier of a holding on which breeding flocks of 250 poultry or more are kept to notify the Secretary of State.

The Order implements the national control programme for domestic fowl of the species Gallus gallus—

(a)

required by Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the control of salmonella and other specified food-borne zoonotic agents (OJ No L 325, 12.12.2003, p1); and

(b)

approved by the European Commission in accordance with Article 6 of that Regulation.

The national control programme is available from Surveillance, Zoonoses and Emerging Issues Division, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 1A Page Street, London SW1P 4PQ or from the Defra website (www.defra.gov.uk).

The Order enforces Commission Regulation (EC) No 1003/2005 implementing Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003 as regards a Community target for the reduction of the prevalence of certain salmonella serotypes in breeding flocks of Gallus gallus and amending Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003 (OJ No L 170, 1.7. 2005, p.12).

Articles 6 to 12 apply to the occupier of a holding on which breeding flocks of domestic fowl of the species Gallus gallus are kept. Article 7 requires the occupier to notify the Secretary of State of the arrival of breeding flocks at the holding and article 8 requires him to notify when those flocks will move to the laying phase or laying unit and reach the end of the production cycle. Article 9 requires him to take samples from those flocks and article 10 requires him to submit those samples to an approved laboratory for testing for salmonella. Articles 11 and 12 impose record-keeping requirements on the occupier.

Article 13 sets out the duties of an approved laboratory to prepare and test the samples and report the results of tests to the occupier.

Article 14 prohibits the administering of any antimicrobial to domestic fowl of the species Gallus Gallus, other than in accordance with Article 2 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1177/2006 implementing Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards requirements for the use of specific control measures in the framework of the national programmes for the control of salmonella in poultry (OJ No L 212, 2.8.2006, p.3). Article 15 prohibits the administering of any live salmonella vaccine to such species, other than in accordance with Article 3(1) of that Regulation.

Article 16 imposes record-keeping requirements on the occupier of a poultry hatchery.

The Order is enforced by the local authority. Breach of the Order is an offence under section 73 of the Animal Health Act 1981 (c.22), punishable in accordance with section 75 of that Act.

A full regulatory impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business and the voluntary sector is available from the above address and is annexed to the Explanatory Memorandum which is available alongside the instrument on the Office of Public Sector Information website.