VETERINARY CERTIFICATES

Professional judgement The personnel of Veterinary Services should have the

relevant qualifications, scientific expertise and experience to give them the competence to make sound professional judgements.

Independence Care should be taken to ensure that Veterinary Services'

personnel are free from any commercial, financial, hierarchical, political or other pressures which might affect their judgement or decisions.

Impartiality The Veterinary Services should be impartial. In particular, all the

parties affected by their activities have a right to expect their services to be delivered under reasonable and non-discriminatory conditions.

Integrity The Veterinary Services should guarantee that the work of each of

their personnel is of a consistently high level of integrity. Any fraud, corruption or falsification should be identified and corrected.

Objectivity The Veterinary Services should at all times act in an objective,

transparent and non-discriminatory manner.

It is essential to include in any requirements only those specific statements that can be accurately and honestly signed by a certifying veterinarian. For example, these requirements should not include certification of an area as being free from diseases other than notifiable diseases, or the occurrence of which the signing veterinarian is not necessarily informed about. It is unacceptable to ask for certification for events which will take place after the document is signed when these events are not under the direct control and supervision of the signing veterinarian.

Certification of freedom from diseases based on purely clinical freedom and herd history is of limited value. This is also true of diseases for which there is no specific diagnostic test, or the value of the test as a diagnostic aid is limited.

Certifying veterinarian should:

be authorised by the Veterinary Authority of the exporting country to sign international veterinary certificates;

only certify matters that are within their own knowledge at the time of signing the certificate, or that have been separately attested by another competent party;

sign only at the appropriate time certificates that have been completed fully and correctly; where a certificate is signed on the basis of supporting documentation, the certifying veterinarian should have verified or be in possession of that documentation before signing;

have no conflict of interest in the commercial aspects of the animals or animal products being certified and be independent from the commercial parties.

Certificates

Certificates should be designed so as to minimize the potential for fraud including use of a unique identification number, or other appropriate means to ensure security. Paper certificates should bear the signature of the certifying veterinarian and the official identifier (stamp) of the issuing Veterinary Authority. Each page of a multiple page certificate should bear the unique certificate number and a number indicating the number of the page out of the total number of pages. Electronic certification procedures should include equivalent safeguards.

Certificates should be written using terms that are simple, unambiguous and as easy to understand as possible, without losing their legal meaning.

If so required, certificates should be written in the language of the importing country. In such circumstances, they should also be written in a language understood by the certifying veterinarian.

Certificates should require appropriate identification of animals and animal products except where this is impractical (e.g. day-old birds).

Certificates should not require a veterinarian to certify matters that are outside his/her knowledge or which he/she cannot ascertain and verify.

Where appropriate, when presented to the certifying veterinarian, certificates should be accompanied by notes of guidance indicating the extent of enquiries, tests or examinations expected to be carried out before the certificate is signed.

The text of a certificate should not be amended except by deletions which should be signed and stamped by the certifying veterinarian.

The signature and stamp should be in a colour different from that of the printing of the certificate. The stamp may be embossed instead of being a different colour.

Replacement certificates may be issued by a Veterinary Authority to replace certificates that have been, for example, lost, damaged, contain errors, or where the original information is no longer correct. These replacements should be provided by the issuing authority and be clearly marked to indicate that they are replacing the original certificate. A replacement certificate should reference the number and the issue date of the certificate that it supersedes. The superseded certificate should be cancelled and where possible, returned to the issuing authority.

Only original certificates are acceptable.

Electronic certification

Certification may be provided by electronic documentation sent directly from the Veterinary Authority of the exporting country to the Veterinary Authority of the importing country. Such systems also normally provide an interface with the commercial organisation marketing the commodity for provision of information to the certifying authority. The certifying veterinarian should have access to all information such as laboratory results and animal identification data.

Electronic certificates may be in a different format but should carry the same information as conventional paper certificates.

The Veterinary Authority should have in place systems for the security of electronic certificates against access by unauthorised persons or organisations.

The certifying veterinarian should be officially responsible for the secure use of his/her electronic signature.

EU health certificates include some factual declarations which the official veterinarian may not personally have the knowledge to certify. The identity and data of the animals, and contacts to other herds should be witnessed by the owner.

Information on the health status of the animal and the herd based on clinical examination should be certified by a veterinary practitioner, and the results of laboratory tests by an approved diagnostic laboratory. The health situation within the area, the region or the country is based on a declaration from the national veterinary service who keeps the registers and files of national eradication schemes.

Declarations from these persons and institutions should be used by the official veterinarian as back up documentation when the health certificate is issued.

To ask certification for events which will take place after the document is signed is unacceptable when these events are not under the direct control and supervision of the signing veterinarian.

The system for the identification and registration of individual bovine animals

includes the following elements: double eartags for each animal with an

individual number maintaining a register on each holding (farm,

market etc.) cattle-passports a computerised database at national level

The characters forming the identification code on the ear tags:

the first two positions shall identify the Member State of the holding where the animal is first identified;

the characters following the country code shall be numeric and shall not exceed 12 digits

Ear tags

shall be of flexible plastic material; shall be tamper-proof and easy to read

throughout the lifetime of the animal; they shall not be re-usable; they shall be designed in such a way that they

can remain attached to the animal without being harmful to it;

they shall carry only non-removable inscriptions

The register kept on each holding shall contain at least the following information:

the date of birth and death of the animal on the holding; in the case of animals departing from the holding, the name and

address of the keeper, with the exception of the transporter, or the identification code of the holding, to whom/which the animal is being transferred, as well as the date of departure;

in the case of animals arriving on the holding, the name and address of the keeper, with the exception of the transporter, or the identification code of the holding, from whom/which the animal was transferred, and the date of arrival;

the name and signature of the representative of the competent authority checking the register and the dates on which such checks are carried out.

The period between three and seven days to be determined by Member States for keepers to notify movements, births and deaths of animals should be linked to the date of the event.

The system for the identification and registration of groups of pigs

includes the following elements: eartags or tattoos maintaining a register on each holding (farm,

market etc.) a computerised database at national level

Community rules on the identification of sheep and goats

double identification before six months of age - two eartags or one eartag and a tattoo, mark on the pastern or electronic identifier

maintaining an up-to-date register on each holding;

a movement document for each movement of groups of animals;

a central register of all holdings or computer database at national level.

Pets

In order to ensure a clear link between the animal and the animal health certificate or passport, pets must be fitted with an electronic microchip (transponder)

or have a clearly readable tattoo, applied before 3 July 2011.

TRACES system

TRAde Control and Expert System is a trans-European network for veterinary health which notifies, certifies and monitors imports, exports and trade in animals and animal products. Economic operators (private sector) and competent authorities all over the world can use this web-based network free of charge to trace back and forth animal and animal product movement.

Veterinary checks

In the Member State of origin, the competent authority must verify, among other things, that the animals and products concerned:

come from holdings, centres or organisations which are subject to regular official veterinary checks;

are identified and registered in accordance with the requirements of Community law;

are accompanied by health certificates and other appropriate documents during transport and through to the destination;

do not originate from holdings or regions which are subject to restrictions applying to those animals or products because of the suspicion or existence of certain diseases;

come from a country or region offering sufficient health guarantees from the point of view of the country of destination;

are transported in accordance with the hygiene rules in force.

Additionally, in the country of origin, the competent authority must carry out checks in holdings, markets and assembly centres to verify that the animals and products meet Community standards, especially as regards identification. Measures will be taken against suppliers or consignors of animals and products who fail to comply with these rules.

Non-discriminatory spot checks may be carried out at places of destination. If an infringement is suspected, checks may be carried out during transport.

Identity checks Documentary checks Physical checks