The Pet Travel Scheme (Pilot Arrangements) (England) (Amendment) Order 2001

Made: 2nd January 2001

Laid before Parliament: 4th January 2001

Coming into force: 31st January 2001

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 10 of the Animal Health Act 1981[^f00001], and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, makes the following Order:

Title and commencement

1

This Order may be cited as the Pet Travel Scheme (Pilot Arrangements) (England) (Amendment) Order 2001 and comes into force on 31st January 2001.

Amendments to the Pet Travel Scheme (Pilot Arrangements) (England) Order 1999

2

• (1) The Pet Travel Scheme (Pilot Arrangements) (England) Order 1999[^f00002] shall be amended in accordance with this article.

• (2) After article 2 there shall be inserted—

(2A) (1) This Order shall apply in relation to animals from countries and territories listed in Part I of Schedule 2 or Schedule 6. (2) The provisions relating to means of transport, identification, health status, derogations for animals identified outside England and documentation set out in articles 4, 5, 6, 6A and 7 shall apply in relation to animals from countries or territories listed in Part I of Schedule 2. (3) The provisions of Schedule 6 shall apply in relation to animals from countries or territories listed in Schedule 6 in place of the provisions referred to in paragraph (2).

• (3) For article 4 there shall be substituted—

(4) (1) The animal shall be brought into England using a carrier approved under article 8 below, travelling directly from one of the countries or territories in Part I of Schedule 2, without leaving the vessel, aircraft or train in which it is travelling between arrival and departure. (2) In the event of an aircraft being diverted from its scheduled destination, the carrier shall transport the animal to the scheduled destination at its own expense.

• (4) For article 6(1) there shall be substituted—

(6) (1) After it has been microchipped the animal shall— (a) have been vaccinated against rabies in a country or territory specified in Part I of Schedule 2 or Schedule 6 or in the British Islands or the Republic of Ireland after the age of three months by injection of an inactivated vaccine approved by the competent authority of the country in which the vaccination takes place; and (b) have had any necessary booster injections in a country or territory specified in Part I of Schedule 2 or Schedule 6 or in the British Islands or the Republic of Ireland at intervals specified by the manufacturer of the vaccine.

• (5) After article 6(4A) there shall be inserted—

(4B) In the case of animals coming from Malta or Cyprus, the treatment for ticks must contain fipronil as the active ingredient.

• (6) For article 6(5) there shall be substituted—

The animal shall not have been outside the British Islands, the Republic of Ireland or the countries or territories in Part I of Schedule 2 or Schedule 6 for the six month period immediately preceding the date it is brought into England.

• (7) At the end of article 7(6) there shall be added the words “or Schedule 6”.

• (8) After article 7 there shall be inserted the following—

(7A) The provisions of Schedule 6 (rabies-free islands) shall have effect.

• (9) Schedule 1 shall be revoked.

• (10) In Part I of Schedule 2 there shall be inserted in alphabetical order—

• “Cyprus. Note: the animal may come from any part of the island of Cyprus. All certification must be issued by the government of the Republic of Cyprus”, and

• “Malta”.

• (11) Part II of Schedule 2 shall be revoked.

• (12) In Schedule 4 the following table shall be substituted for the table of qualifying countries in the Pilot Pet Travel Scheme—

• (13) After Schedule 5 there shall be inserted the Schedule to this Order.

Consequential amendments to the Rabies (Importation of Dogs, Cats and Other Mammals) Order 1974

3

• (1) The Rabies (Importation of Dogs, Cats and Other Mammals) Order 1974[^f00003] shall be amended in accordance with this article.

• (2) For article 4(2A)(f) there shall be substituted—

(f) the animal has not been outside the British Islands, the Republic of Ireland or the countries or territories in Part I of Schedule 2 or Schedule 6 to the Pet Travel Scheme (Pilot Arrangements) (England) Order 1999 for the six month period immediately preceding the date it is brought into England.

• (3) For article 5A there shall be substituted—

(5A) If a cat or dog is in quarantine in England, the Minister may grant a licence releasing it if he is satisfied that— (a) it has been microchipped, vaccinated and blood tested in accordance with the Pet Travel Scheme (Pilot Arrangements) (England) Order 1999, (b) a sample of blood was taken from the animal at least six months before the release date and tested in accordance with the 1999 Order; (c) at least twenty four hours before release it has been treated by a veterinary surgeon against Echinococcus multilocularis and ticks, using a veterinary medicine with a marketing authorisation at an appropriate dosage (in the case of treatment against Echinococcus multilocularis the medicine must contain praziquantel as the active ingredient, and in the case of an animal which has been in Cyrpus, Malta or one of the countries or territories in Schedule 6 to the 1999 Order the treatment against ticks must contain fipronil as the active ingredient); (d) it has not been outside the countries or territories in Schedules 2 or 6 to the 1999 Order in the six months prior to the release date; (e) in the case of an animal from a country or territory in Schedule 6 to the 1999 Order, it arrived in England in a sealed container with the seal intact. The container must have been sealed by an official authorised by the competent authority of the exporting country, who must have written the number of the seal on the import licence granted by the Minister under article 4(3) and stamped the licence with his official stamp. The number on the seal must be the same as the number on the licence. However, if the Minister is satisfied that the animal was not exposed to risk of infection of rabies during its journey, he may release the animal from quarantine if the provisions relating to sealing are not complied with.

SCHEDULE

Signed

Hayman — Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food — 2nd January 2001

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order amends the Pet Travel Scheme (Pilot Arrangements) (England) Order 1999 so as to extend the scheme to the following—

There are additional requirements for these countries, which are specified in the new Schedule 6 to the Order.

In addition, it amends article 4 of the Order so as to remove the requirement for the Minister to approve routes along which animals may be transported.

It makes a consequential amendment to the Rabies (Dogs, Cats and Other Mammals) Order 1974.

A regulatory impact assessment has been prepared in respect of this Order. A copy of it has been placed in the library of each House of Parliament. Further copies can be obtained from the Pets and Quarantine Branch of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, 2nd Floor, 1A Page Street, London SW1P 4PQ. A copy has been published on the Ministry’s website at www.maff.gov.uk/animalh/quarantine/

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 1981 c. 22. See section 86(1)(c) for a definition of “the Ministers”. In relation to England, the powers of “the Ministers” were transferred to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food by the Transfer of Functions (Agriculture and Food) Order 1999, S.I. 1999/3141.

[^f00002]: S.I. 1999/3443 as amended by S.I. 2000/1298, S.I. 2000/1564 and S.I. 2000/1641.

[^f00003]: S.I. 1974/2211 as amended by S.I. 1977/361, S.I. 1984/1182, S.I. 1986/2062, S.I. 1994/1716, S.I. 1995/2922, S.I. 1999/3443, S.I. 2000/1298.