OpenLegislation

The Specified Animal Pathogens Order (Northern Ireland) 2008

S.R. 2008/336 · Made 6 August 2008 · Extends to Northern Ireland

Not fully up to date. 1 change made by later legislation has not yet been written into this text, which is revised to 18 November 2013.

See the changes not yet applied
ProvisionChangeMade by
Sch. 1 Pt. 1 para. 35AinsertedSpecified Animal Pathogens 2010 art. 3

Animals

Animal Health

Made 6th August 2008

Coming into operation 30th August 2008

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Developmentf1, makes the following Order in exercise of the powers conferred by Articles 2(3), 5(1), 19, 30(1) and 60(1) of the Diseases of Animals (Northern Ireland) Order 1981f2.C1

Annotations to the whole text

Modifications

C1

Rules excluded (18.11.2013) by The African Horse Sickness Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013 (S.R. 2013/244), reg. 4(a) (with reg. 4)

Footnotes

f1

Formerly the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland see the Departments Order 1999 S.I. 1999/283 (N.I. 1) Article3 (4)

f2

S.I. 1981/1115 (N.I. 22) as amended by S.I. 1984/702 (N.I. 2) Article 17, S.I. 1994/1891 (N.I. 6) Arts. 19, 22 to 24 and Schedule, S.R. 2002 No.225 and S.R. 2006 No.41

Contents

  1. 1Citation and commencement
  2. 2Interpretation
  3. 3Extension of the definition of “animal”, “poultry” and “disease”
  4. 4Prohibitions in relation to specified animal pathogens
  5. 5Exceptions
  6. 6Powers of inspectors
  7. 7Improvement notices
  8. 8Prohibition notices
  9. 9Appeals against improvement and prohibition notices
  10. 10Licences
  11. 11Revocation
  12. Signature
  13. Schedule 1: Specified animal pathogens
  14. Part I
  15. 1Paragraph 1
  16. 2Paragraph 2
  17. 3Paragraph 3
  18. 4Paragraph 4
  19. 5Paragraph 5
  20. 6Paragraph 6
  21. 7Paragraph 7
  22. 8Paragraph 8
  23. 9Paragraph 9
  24. 10Paragraph 10
  25. 11Paragraph 11
  26. 12Paragraph 12
  27. 13Paragraph 13
  28. 14Paragraph 14
  29. 15Paragraph 15
  30. 16Paragraph 16
  31. 17Paragraph 17
  32. 18Paragraph 18
  33. 19Paragraph 19
  34. 20Paragraph 20
  35. 21Paragraph 21
  36. 22Paragraph 22
  37. 23Paragraph 23
  38. 24Paragraph 24
  39. 25Paragraph 25
  40. 26Paragraph 26
  41. 27Paragraph 27
  42. 28Paragraph 28
  43. 29Paragraph 29
  44. 30Paragraph 30
  45. 31Paragraph 31
  46. 32Paragraph 32
  47. 33Paragraph 33
  48. 34Paragraph 34
  49. 35Paragraph 35
  50. 36Paragraph 36
  51. 37Paragraph 37
  52. 38Paragraph 38
  53. 39Paragraph 39
  54. 40Paragraph 40
  55. 41Paragraph 41
  56. 42Paragraph 42
  57. 43Paragraph 43
  58. 44Paragraph 44
  59. 45Paragraph 45
  60. 46Paragraph 46
  61. 47Paragraph 47
  62. 48Paragraph 48
  63. 49Paragraph 49
  64. 50Paragraph 50
  65. 51Paragraph 51
  66. 52Paragraph 52
  67. 53Paragraph 53
  68. 54Paragraph 54
  69. 55Paragraph 55
  70. Part II
  71. 56Paragraph 56
  72. Schedule 2: Powers of inspectors
  73. 1General powers of inspectors
  74. 2Seizure of pathogens
  75. 3Cleansing and disinfection
  76. 4Production of licences
  77. Explanatory note

1Citation and commencementI1

This Order may be cited as the Specified Animal Pathogens Order (Northern Ireland) 2008 and shall come into operation on 30th August 2008.

2InterpretationI1

(1)

In this Order—

  • “animal” includes poultry;

  • “carrier” means any living creature except man which may carry or transmit a specified animal pathogen or the tissue, cell culture, body fluid, excreta, carcase or part of a carcase of such creature by or by means of which a specified animal pathogen may be transmitted or carried;

  • “the Department” means the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development;

  • “the 1981 Order” means the Diseases of Animals (Northern Ireland) Order 1981;

  • “premises” includes any land, building or other place; and

  • “specified animal pathogen” means an animal pathogen listed in Schedule 1, including—

    1. (a)

      intact pathogens;

    2. (b)

      pathogens which have been attenuated or genetically modified by any means; and

    3. (c)

      any nucleic acid derived from an animal pathogen listed in that Schedule that could produce that pathogen when introduced into a biological system in which the nucleic acid is capable of replicating.

(2)

In this Order “inspector” does not include an inspector appointed by a district council.

(3)

A licence or notice issued under this Order must be in writing, may be subject to conditions and may be amended, suspended or revoked by notice in writing at any time.

3Extension of the definition of “animal”, “poultry” and “disease”I1

For the purposes of the 1981 Order in its application to this Order—

(a)

the list of animals in Part I of Schedule 1 to the 1981 Order is hereby extended so as to comprise—

(i)

any kind of mammal except man, and

(ii)

any kind of four-footed beast which is not a mammal;

(b)

the list of poultry in Part II of Schedule 1 to the 1981 Order is hereby extended so as to comprise birds of any kind; and

(c)

the lists of diseases in Parts III and IV of Schedule 1 to the 1981 Order are hereby extended so as to comprise any disease of animals and poultry which may be caused by one or more specified animal pathogens.

4Prohibitions in relation to specified animal pathogensI1

(1)

A person shall not have in their possession—

(a)

any animal pathogen specified in Part 1 of Schedule 1; or

(b)

any carrier in which they know such a pathogen is present,

except under the authority of a licence issued by the Department.

(2)

A person shall not deliberately introduce into any animal any animal pathogen specified in either Part 1 or Part 2 of that Schedule, except under the authority of a licence issued by the Department.

(3)

A person must immediately notify the Department if that person—

(a)

has possession of any thing in respect of which they have reasonable grounds for suspecting that an animal pathogen specified in Part 1 of Schedule 1 is present; and

(b)

does not have a licence in respect of that pathogen.

5ExceptionsI1

(1)

Article 4 shall not apply to any person who is transporting a pathogen or carrier and who does not own or have any rights in that pathogen or carrier.

(2)

Article 4 shall not apply in relation to any pathogen or carrier contained in a product—

(a)

authorised to be placed on the market in Northern Ireland as a veterinary medicinal product, or authorised to be administered to an animal in Northern Ireland;

(b)

authorised to be placed on the market under F1the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 ;

(c)

licensed in accordance with the provisions of section 7(2) of the Medicines Act 1968f1.

(3)

Article 4 shall not apply to any specified animal pathogen contained in an animal where—

(a)

such pathogen was not deliberately introduced into the animal; and

(b)

a notification has been made to the Department or to a member of the Police Service of Northern Irelandf2 under Article 10 of the 1981 Order or any order made thereunder regarding the presence of disease, or suspicion of it, in the animal, or the Department is aware of the presence of such disease, or suspicion of it, in the said animal.

6Powers of inspectorsI1

In addition to the powers set out in the 1981 Order, an inspector enforcing this Order has the powers set out in Schedule 2.

7Improvement noticesI1

(1)

If an inspector is of the opinion that a person—

(a)

is carrying on any activity contravening one or more of the conditions of a licence issued to them under this Order, or

(b)

has contravened one or more of those conditions in circumstances that make it likely that the contravention will continue or be repeated,

that inspector may serve on that person a notice (“an improvement notice”).

(2)

An improvement notice must—

(a)

specify the conditions of the licence that have been contravened;

(b)

explain the reasons why the inspector is of that opinion; and

(c)

require that person to remedy the contravention or the matters occasioning it, within such period as may be specified in the notice.

(3)

A notice must include directions as to the measures to be taken to remedy any contravention or matter to which the notice relates; and any such directions may be framed so as to afford the person on whom the notice is served a choice between different ways of remedying the contravention or matter.

8Prohibition noticesI1

(1)

This paragraph applies to any activities for which a licence is required under this Order.

(2)

If an inspector is of the opinion that the activities involve or may involve a risk of serious harm to animals, the inspector may serve on that person a notice (“a prohibition notice”).

(3)

A prohibition notice must—

(a)

state that the inspector is of that opinion;

(b)

specify the matters which in that inspector’s opinion give or may give rise to a risk of serious harm to animals; and

(c)

direct that the activities to which the notice relates must not be carried on unless the matters specified in the notice have been remedied.

(4)

A direction contained in a prohibition notice under sub-paragraph (3)(c) takes effect—

(a)

at the end of the period specified in the notice; or

(b)

if the notice so declares, immediately.

9Appeals against improvement and prohibition noticesI1

(1)

A person on whom an improvement or prohibition notice is served may, within 21 days, appeal against the notice to a person appointed for the purpose by the Department.

(2)

The appointed person must consider the appeal and any representations made by the Department and report in writing, with a recommended course of action, to the Department.

(3)

The Department may then either cancel the notice or confirm it, with or without modifications, and must notify the appellant, together with the reasons.

10LicencesI1

A person shall not contravene a licence condition imposed on that person.

11RevocationI1

The Specified Animal Pathogens Order (Northern Ireland) 1999f1 is hereby revoked.

Signature

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development on 6th August 2008.

L.S.

Elizabeth Redmond

A senior officer of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development

1I1

African horse sickness virus

2I1

African swine fever virus

3I1

Aujeszky’s disease virus

4I1

Avian influenza viruses that are —

(a)

uncharacterised;

(b)

Type A viruses which have an intravenous pathogenicity index in six-week-old chickens of greater than 1.2; or

(c)

Type A viruses H5 or H7 subtype for which nucleotide sequencing has demonstrated multiple basic amino acids at the cleavage site of hæmagglutinin

5I1

Babesia bovis

6I1

Babesia bigemina

7I1

Babesia caballi

8I1

Bacillus anthracis

9I1

Bluetongue virus

10I1

Bovine leucosis virus

11I1

Brucella abortus

12I1

Brucella melitensis

13I1

Brucella ovis

14I1

Brucella suis

15I1

Burkholderia mallei

16I1

Classical swine fever virus

17I1

Cochliomyia hominivorax

18I1

Eastern and Western equine encephalomyelitis viruses

19I1

Echinococcus multilocularis

20I1

Echniococcus granulosus

21I1

Ehrlichia ruminantium

22I1

Equine infectious anemia virus

23I1

Foot and mouth disease virus

24I1

Hendra disease virus

25I1

Histoplasma farciminosum

26I1

Japanese encephalitis virus

27I1

Lumpy skin disease virus

28I1

Maedi-Visna

29I1

Mycoplasma agalactiae

30I1

Mycoplasma capricolum sub species capripneumoniae

31I1

Mycoplasma mycoides sub species mycoides SC and mycoides LC variants

32I1

Mycoplasma mycoides var capri

33I1

Newcastle disease (avian paramyxovirus type 1) viruses which are—

(a)

uncharacterised; or

(b)

have an intracerebral pathogenicity index in one-day-old chicks of 0.4 or more, when not less than 10 million 50% egg infectious doses (EID50) are administered to each bird in the test.

34I1

Nipah disease virus

35I1

Peste des petits ruminants virus

36I1

Rabies virus and all viruses of the genus Lyssavirus

37I1

Rift Valley Fever virus

38I1

Rinderpest virus

39I1

St. Louis equine encephalomyelitis virus

40I1

Sheep and goat pox virus

41I1

Swine vesicular disease virus

42I1

Teschen disease virus

43I1

Theileria annulata

44I1

Theileria equi

45I1

Theileria parva

46I1

Trichinella spiralis

47I1

Trypanosoma brucei

48I1

Trypanosoma congolense

49I1

Trypanosoma equiperdum

50I1

Trypanosoma evansi

51I1

Trypanosoma simiae

52I1

Trypanosoma vivax

53I1

Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis virus

54I1

Vesicular stomatitis virus

55I1

West Nile virus

56I1

The live virus causing viral hæmorrhagic disease of rabbits

1General powers of inspectorsI1

(1)

The inspector may be accompanied by such other persons as the inspector considers necessary.

(2)

For the purposes of enforcing this Order an inspector may—

(a)

take any necessary equipment or materials on to the premises;

(b)

make such examination and investigation as may in any circumstances be necessary, and may direct that the premises, any part of the premises or anything in the premises be left undisturbed (whether generally or in particular respects) for so long as is reasonably necessary for the purpose of any examination or investigation;

(c)

take measurements or photographs or make recordings;

(d)

take samples of any articles or substances, or the atmosphere (both on the premises and in the vicinity of the premises);

(e)

cause any article or substance to be dismantled or subjected to any process or test (but not so as to damage or destroy it unless this is in the circumstances necessary for the purpose of the process or test);

(f)

take possession of any article or substance and detain it for so long as is necessary—

(i)

to examine it and do to it anything that the inspector has power to do;

(ii)

to ensure that it is not tampered with before the examination is completed;

(iii)

to ensure that it is available for use as evidence in any civil or criminal proceedings;

(g)

require any person whom the inspector has reasonable cause to believe to be able to give any information (including that person’s name and address) relevant to any examination or investigation, to answer (in the absence of persons other than a person nominated by that person to be present and any persons whom the inspector may allow to be present) such questions as the inspector thinks fit to ask and to sign a declaration of the truth of the answers;

(h)

require the production of, inspect, and take copies of any licence issued under this Order or any record, or remove it to enable it to be copied and examined;

(i)

require any person to afford such facilities and assistance with respect to any matters or things within that person’s control or in relation to which that person has responsibilities as are necessary to enable the inspector to exercise any of the powers conferred by this Schedule;

(j)

have access to, inspect and check the operation of any computer and any associated apparatus or material that is or has been in use in connection with the records; and for this purpose may require any person having charge of, or otherwise concerned with the operation of, the computer, apparatus or material to afford such assistance as may reasonably be required and, where a record is kept by means of a computer, may require the records to be produced in a form in which they may be taken away.

(3)

An inspector who proposes to exercise the power conferred by sub-paragraph (2)(e) in the case of an article or substance found in any premises must, if so requested by a person who at the time is present in and has responsibilities in relation to those premises, cause anything which is to be done by virtue of that power to be done in the presence of that person.

(4)

Before exercising the power conferred by sub-paragraph (2)(e) in the case of any article or substance, an inspector must consult such persons as appear appropriate for the purpose of ascertaining what dangers, if any, there may be in doing anything proposed to be done under that power.

(5)

Where an inspector takes possession of any article or substance found in any premises, the inspector must leave there, either with a responsible person or, if that is impracticable, fixed in a conspicuous position, a notice giving particulars of that article or substance sufficient to identify it and stating that it has been taken under that power; and before taking possession of any such substance under that power an inspector must, if it is practicable to do so, take a sample of it and give to a responsible person at the premises a portion of the sample marked in a manner sufficient to identify it.

(6)

No answer given by a person in pursuance of a requirement imposed under sub-paragraph (2)(g) is admissible in evidence against that person or the spouse or civil partner of that person in any proceedings.

2Seizure of pathogensI1

(1)

Where an inspector has reasonable grounds for suspecting that a specified animal pathogen or a carrier is in the possession of a person who does not hold a licence required by this Order or in contravention of a condition of a licence granted under this Order, that inspector may at any time seize, or caused to be seized, such pathogen, carrier or any material in which the inspector reasonably suspects such pathogen to have been kept or into which they reasonably suspect it to be introduced.

(2)

If the inspector considers it expedient to do so, that inspector may for the purpose of preventing the introduction or spreading of disease, detain, treat or destroy any pathogen, carrier or material seized.

3Cleansing and disinfectionI1

(1)

An inspector may, by notice served upon the occupier of any premises (including a dwelling house) or upon the owner or person in charge of any vehicle by which a specified pathogen, carrier or material is or has been present in contravention of this Order or of a licence issued under it, require the person on whom the notice was served to cleanse and disinfect such premises, place or vehicle in such manner as that inspector may by such notice specify at the expense of the person on whom the notice is served.

(2)

Where the requirements of such a notice have not been complied with, the inspector may carry out or cause to be carried out the cleansing and disinfection specified in the notice at the expense of the person on whom the notice has been served.

4Production of licencesI1

Any person acting under the authority of a licence issued under this Order, shall on demand made by an officer of Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise, an inspector or by a member of the Police Service of Northern Ireland produce the licence and allow a copy thereof or an extract therefrom to be taken and shall, also on such demand, furnish his name and address.

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order revokes and re-enacts with amendments the Specified Animal Pathogens Order (Northern Ireland) 1999 (S. R. 1999 No. 434).

The principal change is to provide for additional powers for inspectors (Schedule 2).

As in the previous Order, it provides that possession of an animal pathogen specified in Part I of Schedule 1, or introduction into an animal of an animal pathogen specified in Parts I and II of that Schedule, requires a licence from the Department.