CIN AE/2006/321

Purpose

1.             The purpose of this Customer Information Note (CIN) is to advise the cattle export industry and other interested parties of:

2.     All the arrangements set out in this CIN work in combination with those set out in our earlier CIN AE/2006/83. If it is not clear or there is any ambiguity about how the arrangements should be applied then you must clarify by contacting the enquiry point at the end of this CIN.  

SECTION A - Background
3.      Council Directive 64/432/EEC on animal health problems affecting intra-Community trade in bovine animals and swine sets out the EU rules for exporting cattle between Member States.

4.      The cattle export trade in the UK resumed in May 2006 and export procedures were put in place to facilitate the export of cattle. The cattle export industry and other interested parties were engaged in the development of these export procedures and this collaborative approach has worked successfully in helping to ensure the effective export of many consignments of live cattle to date.

5.      Following up industry feedback Defra has reviewed the possibilities of allowing a cattle assembly centre to operate as an auction, cattle to be bought and sold at such assemblies for export and domestic trade movements from one assembly centre to a second one in the UK and the multiple pick up of consignments from different assembly centres. Movements from one assembly centre to a second one and the multiple pick up of consignments from different assembly centres cannot be allowed at this point but we will review again as soon as possible.

6.      The UK is expected to be subject to a Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) Mission to look specifically at cattle exports. We must continue to be able to demonstrate to the FVO that our controls surrounding the export of cattle do meet the rules. 

SECTION B - The streamlined process of support certification for breeding/production cattle to assembly centres
7.      The following arrangements work in combination with the instructions set out in our earlier CIN AE/2006/83.

8.      The implementation of the assembly market process has enabled a review and streamlining of the current business process for assembly centres. These arrangements have the potential to reduce paperwork and processing times of applications where electronic submission is used by Agents/Exporters/Operators etc (the arrangements at para 2 d of the Operational Undertaking attached will apply to assembly centres as well).

9.      Attached at annexes 4 - 6 are;

BOV EEC – Request For Cattle Export Eligibility Checks & Notifiable Disease Clearance for Intra Community Trade,
BOV EEC NDC – Cattle Export Eligibility Check & Bovine Notifiable Disease Clearance,
BOV CON – Bovine Consignor Confirmation of Animals for Export.

Action for industry
10.    The BOV EEC NDC should be used in place of the support ITAHC although if the animals are 42 days or older at the time of movement, they must be tested for TB using the comparative intradermal tuberculin test and the test report accompany the animals to the assembly market/centre. Also, animals must continue to be accompanied by their passports and owner’s declaration (BOV DEC) when they move to the assembly centre and, the operator/agent/exporter and the LVI for the assembly centre must ensure this is the case.

11.    Agents/Exporters will continue to apply to their local AHDO for the final intra-trade animal health certificate (ITAHC) and route plan approval from the assembly centre. AHDOs will issue the ITAHC and approved route plan to the nominated LVI. The BOV EEC NDC that will support the LVIs certification of the ITAHC will be sent directly to the nominated LVI from Carlisle.

SECTION C - Additional arrangements that are now available for the export of cattle (this is in addition to existing cattle export procedures in place since May 2006)
12.    These arrangements will allow:

• Auctions at assembly centres (to be called assembly markets)
• Cattle to be bought and sold at assembly markets for export and domestic trade
• Movements of certified consignments from different assembly centres or assembly markets to a staging point and their subsequent loading onto a larger vehicle for onward movement, as long as the animals remain in their discrete certified groups.

13.    An overview of the cattle export arrangements in place from May 2006 are illustrated in Diagram 1. An overview of the additional arrangements are illustrated in Diagram 2.

Action for Industry
To move cattle from an assembly market to export or to a domestic holding (See Diagram 2)  

14.    A premise must be approved to operate as an assembly market. The full details for approval are set out in the Operational Undertaking at Annex 2. They entail:
14a.  Holding official approval from the local AHDO under the Animals and Animal Products (Imports and Exports)  Regulations* to operate as an assembly centre for cattle.
14b.  Holding official approval from the local AHDO under the Animals Gatherings Order (England)* to operate as a market  [* Or the equivalent legislation in Scotland and Wales] 
14c.  Providing the local AHDO with a completed assembly market operational undertaking
14d.  Ensuring all animals entering the market on that day are of export status with accompanying support documentation
14e.  Assembly market operators familiarising themselves with the new support documentation (new Notes for Guidance will be made available on the Defra TRACES support web pages shortly) and especially using the new forms described in the Operational Undertaking (BOV-DEC, BOV-EEC-NDC and Bovine CON). Agents will continue to apply for final intra trade animal health certificates (ITAHCS) as per our earlier CIN AE/2006/83.

SECTION D - To send/rest animals already certified for export to/at a staging point (or ‘control post’, as it will be known when Regulation 1/2005 is implemented in GB from 5 January 2007)

15.    Staging point operators must:
15a.  Ensure their premises is officially approved as a staging point under the Welfare of Animals (Transport) Order 
15b.  Ensure that staging point rules are observed at all times
15c.  Ensure that certified consignments combined onto a single vehicle for the remainder of their export journey are separated on the vehicle into their certified consignments and are all accompanied by their original export certification
15d.   Ensure that an official veterinarian attends the staging post and completed the route plan as required.

SECTION E - Animals rejected from an assembly market, assembly centre or a staging point
16.    There are occasions when animals are not certified for export or certified animals are unable to continue their export journey. This can happen at the assembly centre, assembly market or staging point, and is usually on welfare grounds or commercial reasons, or because there is no room for them on the vehicle. These animals must be dealt with in such a way as not to compromise the domestic animal health and welfare policy.

16a.  Animals rejected on grounds other than welfare must either be slaughtered or they may be moved to a domestic holding under the appropriate movement licence, and the holding subject to a standstill as required under the Disease Control Order.  Further more, the British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS) will have to be notified of the ‘off’ movement from the assembly centre, assembly market or staging point and
the keeper at the holding of destination reminded to notify the BCMS of the ‘on’ movement. Animals rejected on welfare grounds because they are not fit for transport will have to remain at the premises until fit to do so, or, slaughtered at the premises. 

Further Enquiries
17.    If you have any enquiries concerning this CIN please contact your local animal health office (contact details at  Annex 3).

Annex 1
DESCRIPTION OF MARKET / ASSEMBLY CENTRE / ASSEMBLY MARKET / STAGING POINT

Market, Assembly Market, Assembly Centre and Staging Point Shared Traits
Assembly markets, assembly centres and staging points have a number of similarities. For example they all need to be officially approved or endorsed to operate as such, they must protect the health status of animals with bio-security arrangements and they operate under official supervision. 

Market
A market is a premise approved under the Animal Gatherings Order* at which animals are brought together for sale, show, exhibition, onward consignment in Great Britain or determining breed characteristics.

Assembly Centre
An assembly centre is a holding, collection centre or market approved under the Animals and Animal Products (Import and Export) Regulations* to which livestock (cattle, pigs, sheep and goats) originating from different holdings are grouped together to form consignments of animals intended for intra-Community trade.

An assembly centre is intended to ensure that consignments of livestock from different holdings of origin only consist of animals that are individually identified, come from herds or flocks of a health status which makes them eligible for intra-Community trade and do not come into contact with animals of a lower health status, either at the assembly centre or during transport from the premises of origin to the assembly centre.

Assembly Market
An assembly market is a recently created ‘type’ of premise which will be officially endorsed following an undertaking provided by the operator that combines the activities of both markets and assembly centres. Simplistically an assembly market can be described as an assembly centre with bidding activity. The descriptions of an assembly centre and a market above must both be applied to an assembly market

Staging Point (‘Control Post’)
A staging point is a premise approved under the Welfare of Animals (Transport) Order at which cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and unregistered horses must be unloaded and rested for 24 hours on completion of the maximum journey time permitted, before any further period of transport.  [* Or the equivalent legislation in Scotland and Wales] 

Annex 2
OPERATIONAL UNDERTAKING BY OPERATOR OF AN ASSEMBLY MARKET  
Name:
Address of premises:
Tel No:
Email:
I, the undersigned, hereby:
1) declare that
The premises above hold official approval to operate as an assembly centre for cattle exports under The Animals and Animal Products (Import and Export) (England) Regulations*. Its approval number is ………………………….
The premises above officially approved or endorsed to operate as a market under the Animals Gatherings (England & Wales) Order*. Its CPH number is …………………………..
The premises when operating as an assembly market is the whole premise and not parts thereof (i.e. the assembly market is not divided into two sections one part acting as an assembly centre and the other part acting as a market).

2) Undertake to
a) Ensure that a valid fully completed Assembly Market Undertaking (i.e countersigned by the DVM) is in place and complied with during Assembly Market operational times
b) Comply with both market and assembly centre rules during operational times as an Assembly Market
c) Provide the local AHDO and attending LVI with at least 10 working days notice of my intention to hold an assembly market
d) Provide Carlisle AHDO with data on the cattle expected to attend the assembly market so that export eligibility checks can be performed, on the understanding that::
* Or the equivalent legislation in Scotland and Wales 

data submitted less than 5 days in advance of the assembly market will not be processed.
data submitted 9–6 days in advance of the assembly market will only be processed if submitted electronically, on form BOV EEC (provided on approval as an assembly market)
data submitted by fax/hard copy will only be processed if submitted 10 days in advance of the assembly market

e) Ensure that cattle did not come into contact with cloven hoofed animals other than those of a similar health status between leaving the holding of origin and arriving at the assembly market, and that a fully completed owner’s/transporter’s declaration (BOV-DEC) to this effect is available.  

f) Supervise the arrival of cattle into the assembly market and ensure that only the following cattle are admitted:

• cattle of the same export eligible status (Operators must check each animal appears on the forms BOV-EEC-NDC and has a form BOV-DEC) , a full passport, a negative tuberculin test report if appropriate, evidence of compliance with the additional guarantees for infectious bovine rhinotracheitis if appropriate)
• cattle are in compliance with national standstill requirements* (Non compliance would be detected by BCMS and appropriate action taken)
• for animals 42 days or older, are accompanied by a negative TB test report on a test carried out in the last 30 days prior to leaving the holding on which it was resident for at least 30 days/since birth.

g) Ensure the Bovine CON form, copy of health certificate(s) and schedule of animals for export are sent to BCMS promptly after the event; and ensure that all animal movements (to export and domestic holdings) from assembly markets are notified to BCMS within 3 days of the event, either by returning movement cards or by electronic reporting routes. 

h) Ensure that the CPH used for ‘on’ and ‘off’ movement notification to BCMS will be that assigned to the Assembly Centre.
* 6 days in England and Wales and 13 days in Scotland 

i) Ensure that cattle comply with the Welfare of Animals (Transport) Order, especially that:
Animals do not begin journeys without meeting the appropriate rest, feeding and watering requirements under welfare in transport legislation.

Arrangements up to 5 January 2007 (Under the Welfare of Animals (Transport) Order 1997)
Option 1 / Departure (where certified) from: Assembly centre (or assembly market)
Rest, feeding and watering requirements at place of departure:
(i) If the animals have travelled in from a holding (and been on that holding for at least 24 hours, rested, fed and watered) within 50 km of the assembly centre they may commence their export journey as soon as they are certified
(ii) If the animals have travelled in from a holding more than 50 km away from the assembly centre/assembly market they do need 24 hours rest, feeding and watering at the assembly centre/assembly market before the export journey commences

Option 2 / Departure (where certified) from: Holding/farm
Rest, feeding and watering requirements at place of departure: Animals must have been rested, fed and watered 24 hours before the export journey begins.

Arrangements that come into effect from 5 January 2007 onwards (Under Council Regulation 1/2005)
Option 3 / Departure (where certified) from: Holding/farm
Rest, feeding and watering requirements at place of departure: Animals must have been accommodated (rested, fed and watered) at the place of departure for at least 48 hours prior to the start of an export journey.

Option 4 / Departure (where certified) from: Assembly centre (or assembly market)
Rest, feeding and watering requirements at place of departure:
(i) Animals can begin their export journey as soon as they have been certified if they have travelled in from a holding (and been rested, fed and watered on that holding for 48 hours) within 100km of the assembly centre/assembly market.
(ii) Animals from greater than 100km must be rested, fed watered and if possible untied for at least 6 hours at the assembly centre/assembly market before the export journey commences.  

Please note:
It is recommended that animals travelling any distance into Assemble Centres be given a rest of 24 hours (as at present) to let them recover fully from their journey before further transport).

j) Ensure the arrangements set out in this Undertaking and covering CIN are applied in combination with those set out in CIN AE/2006/83. If it is not clear or there is any ambiguity about how the arrangements should be applied to clarify by contacting the enquiry point:
http://www.svs.gov.uk/contact/ahdo_locations.htm.  

3) I accept that this Assembly Market Undertaking remains the property of Defra, the Scottish Executive or the Welsh Assembly Government as appropriate and may be recalled and my approval as an Assembly Market revoked if any conditions of the Undertaking are contravened.    

Signature by Assembly Market Operator
Signed:                                                    Position:
Name in block caps:                              Date:

Countersignature by DVM
I have examined the above undertaking and confirm that the premises is of a suitable standard to operate in the capacity of an Assembly Market.
Signed:                                                    Position:
Name in block caps:                              Date:

Annex 3
Local Animal Health Offices

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INCIDENTALLY

Winner of this year’s ‘Not my Job Award’

IF GOD MEANT US TO DRIVE, HE’D HAVE GIVEN UGANDANS WHEELS...
By Joachim Buwembo ‘The East African’
The motorcar as we know it is an endangered species in the Republic of Uganda. Garages and petrol stations will soon disappear and give way to stables and watering points. The driving schools will be converted into riding schools and vets will replace mechanics. 
You may have thought the use of animal power as a means of transport belongs to history and some rare ceremonies. But things are about to change. Animal transport will make a big comeback to Uganda in this 21st century. For so devastating is the deterioration of our roads that, at this rate, it will eventually not make sense to drive a car designed and manufactured to be used on roads. And with no more motorable space left, horses and donkeys will enter into their own. 
Many of us who haven’t been out of Uganda lately tend to think that maybe other African countries at a comparable stage of development are equally badly off. It therefore comes as a humbling experience to travel to neighbouring countries and find that actually, even African roads are meant to be good, that it is not great wealth that gives a country good roads but a sense of planning. 
But there is something about road construction and maintenance that we have simply failed to grasp. And before someone stumbles on the real reason why Ugandan roads never seem to be designed right and why they never last, we will have to learn to ride — horses for the elite and donkeys for the not-so-well-off. The thing to do now is to start saving for a good horse, for there is neither pride nor dignity in riding a donkey when you are wearing a smart suit or a beautiful dress. 
There will be no need for a policy change to shift from cars to horses and donkeys. The disappearance of the roads will simply dictate the change. The advantage we shall gain by abandoning cars is that road accidents, which currently claim thousands of lives a year, will cease.
Let us try and picture what a Kampala street would look like on a typical Monday morning. Hundreds of horses are galloping up and down. The rich men and women are mounting big, shiny beasts draped in expensive fabrics. There are several horse-drawn carts carrying ordinary commuters and dropping them off at different offices and shops. Instead of engine noise and car horns, the air is filled with a mixture of animal noises.
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TROTTER’S TAILS:

• "Good taste is the enemy of comedy." Mel Brooks, film actor, director, writer and producer
• "The important thing is this: To be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become."  Charles DuBois,  artist, painter
• "It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change." Charles Darwin,  English naturalist

ON THIS DAY [8 December] in 1542, Mary Queen of Scots was born in Linlithgow Palace to James V of Scotland and Marie of Guise. She became queen at six days old and was crowned at nine months.
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[PLEASE NOTE: This e-zine is obtained from many sources. Neither I, nor the AATA, take any responsibility for the accuracy of the information reported here, but any comments or corrections are welcomed. Nor is it supposed to be intrusive. Please tell me if you would prefer to be removed from these mailings. Your own postings and news always appreciated! TCH]