Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1706 of 14 July 2021 amending and correcting Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/688 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2016/429 of the European Parliament and of the Council, as regards animal health requirements for movements within the Union of terrestrial animals and hatching eggs (Text with EEA relevance)

• Published date: 24 September 2021
• Date of Signature: 14 July 2021
• Official Gazette Publication: Official Journal of the European Union, L 339, 24 September 2021
• Subject Matter: Veterinary legislation,Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland

24.9.2021 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 339/56

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COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2021/1706

of 14 July 2021

amending and correcting Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/688 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2016/429 of the European Parliament and of the Council, as regards animal health requirements for movements within the Union of terrestrial animals and hatching eggs

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2016/429 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 on transmissible animal diseases and amending and repealing certain acts in the area of animal health (‘Animal Health Law’) (1), and in particular Article 131(1), Article 135, Article 136(2), Article 140, Article 144(1), Article 147 and Article 156(1) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Regulation (EU) 2016/429 lays down rules for the prevention and control of animal diseases that are transmissible to animals or humans. That Regulation lays down in its Part IV, Title I, Chapters 3, 4 and 5 the animal health requirements for movements within the Union of kept and wild terrestrial animals and germinal products thereof.

(2) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/688 (2) supplements the rules for the prevention and control of animal diseases transmissible to animals or to humans laid down in Article 5(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/429 as regards movements within the Union of kept terrestrial animals, wild terrestrial animals and hatching eggs.

(3) Part II, Chapter 3, Section 1 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/688 lays down the requirements for movements of productive poultry, including the residency period in the establishment of origin. In particular, specific residency periods are laid down for productive poultry for the production of meat or eggs for consumption and for productive poultry for restocking supplies of game birds, but not for productive poultry for the production of other products. A specific residency period should, therefore, be laid down also for that category of productive poultry.

(4) Article 36 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/688 lays down the requirements for the movement of day-old chicks to another Member State and Article 37 thereof provides for a the derogation from the requirements for the movements of poultry in case of movements of less than 20 heads of poultry other than ratites, including day-old chicks, and lays down specific requirements for such movements. Articles 112 to 114 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/692 (3) lay down the animal health requirements for movement and handling of poultry hatched from hatching eggs which have entered the Union from a third country or territory or zone thereof. In order to comply with those requirements Article 36 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/688 provides that, in the case of day-old chicks that have hatched from hatching eggs which had entered the Union from a third country, territory or zone thereof and which are moved to another Member State, the competent authority of the Member State of origin should inform the competent authority of the Member State of intended destination. This requirement is, however, not included in Article 37 of that Regulation for the movements of less than 20 heads of poultry other than ratites when the movement concerns day-old chicks. For the sake of consistency, the information requirement in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/688 should, therefore, similarly apply to the movement between Member States of less than 20 heads of poultry other than ratites.

(5) The definition of ‘assembly operation’, laid down in Article 4, point (49), of Regulation (EU) 2016/429, refers to a period which is shorter than the residency period established for the species of animals concerned for the purposes of assembling of kept terrestrial animals from more than one establishment. However, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/688 does not lay down a specific residency period for kept ungulates intended for slaughter, except for ovine and caprine animals intended for slaughter not individually identified in accordance with Article 45 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2035 (4), for which a residency period is laid down in Article 18 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/688. It is, therefore, necessary to specify the residency period in relation to the definition of assembly operation for those kept ungulates intended for slaughter for which a residency period is not laid down in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/688. This should only apply after the animals leave the establishment of origin.

(6) ‘Assembly centre of dogs, cats and ferrets’ is defined in Article 2, point (7), of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2035 and the requirements for granting the approval are laid down in Article 10 of that Regulation. Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/688, however, does not provide for movements of dogs, cats and ferrets to another Member State from such assembly centres. In order to make the assembly centre of dogs, cats and ferrets functional, it is necessary to lay down requirements for the movement of dogs, cats and ferrets to other Member States when animals from more than one establishment are assembled after leaving the establishment of origin.

(7) Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/688 provides that racing pigeons moved to sporting events in another Member State are to comply with the requirements for the movement of captive birds, including the residency period, and are accompanied by an animal health certificate. However, these obligations limit the possibility for those animals to train for and participate in sporting events. Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/688 should, therefore, be amended to exclude racing pigeons moved to sporting events in another Member State from the requirements to comply with a residency period and to be accompanied by an animal health certificate.

(8) Article 101 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/688 lays down requirements for movements of wild terrestrial animals from their habitat to a habitat or an establishment in another Member State. The rules in that Article apply to all species of terrestrial animals. However, the animal health requirements established in Article 101(4), point (c), and in Article 101(5) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/688 are more specific and are only relevant for, and therefore should apply only to, animals of certain species. Therefore, it is necessary to amend Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/688 and clarify that Article 101(4), point (c) and Article 101(5) of that Delegated Regulation apply only to wild animals of the species which are listed for each specific disease in accordance with Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1882 (5).

(9) Annex II to Delegated

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