
COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 119/2009 of 9 February 2009 laying down a list of third countries or parts thereof, for imports into, or transit through, the Community of meat of wild leporidae, of certain wild land mammals and of farmed rabbits and the veterinary certification requirements (Text with EEA relevance) 

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Directive 2002/99/EC of 16 December 2002 laying down the animal health rules governing the production, processing, distribution and introduction of products of animal origin for human consumption, and in particular the first subparagraph of point 1 of Article 8, Article 9(2)(b) and Article 9(4)(b) and (c) thereof,
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs, and in particular Article 12 thereof,
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin, and in particular Article 9 thereof,
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific rules for the organisation of official controls on products of animal origin intended for human consumption, and in particular Articles 11(1) and 14(4) thereof,
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on official controls performed to ensure the verification of compliance with feed and food law, animal health and animal welfare rules, and in particular Article 48(1) thereof,
Whereas:

(1) Commission Decision 2000/585/EC draws up a list of third countries from which Member States are to authorise imports of rabbit meat and certain wild and farmed game meat, and lays down the animal and public health and the veterinary certification conditions for such imports.

(2) In the interests of consistency of Community legislation, Community rules for imports of meat of wild leporidae, of certain wild land mammals and of farmed rabbits should take into account the public health requirements laid down in Regulations (EC) No 852/2004, (EC) No 853/2004, (EC) No 854/2004 and (EC) No 882/2004.

(3) The measures provided for in this Regulation shall be without prejudice to legislation implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 of 9 December 1996 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein.

(4) With a view to harmonising Community conditions for imports into the Community of the commodities concerned, as well as making them more transparent and simplifying the legislative procedure for amending such conditions, those conditions should be set out in the appropriate model veterinary certificates set out in this Regulation.

(5) The veterinary certificates for imports into and transit, including storage during transit, through the Community of meat of wild leporidae, of certain wild land mammals and of farmed rabbits should comply with the appropriate standard models set out in Annex I to Commission Decision 2007/240/EC of 16 April 2007 laying down new veterinary certificates for importing live animals, semen, embryos, ova and products of animal origin into the Community pursuant to Decisions 79/542/EEC, 92/260/EEC, 93/195/EEC, 93/196/EEC, 93/197/EEC, 95/328/EC, 96/333/EC, 96/539/EC, 96/540/EC, 2000/572/EC, 2000/585/EC, 2000/666/EC, 2002/613/EC, 2003/56/EC, 2003/779/EC, 2003/804/EC, 2003/858/EC, 2003/863/EC, 2003/881/EC, 2004/407/EC, 2004/438/EC, 2004/595/EC, 2004/639/EC and 2006/168/EC.

(6) The model veterinary certificates, set out in this Regulation, for imports into and transit, including storage during transit, through the Community of meat of wild leporidae, of certain wild land mammals and of farmed rabbits should also be compatible with the Traces system, as provided for in Commission Decision 2004/292/EC of 30 March 2004 on the introduction of the Traces system.

(7) The list of third countries or parts thereof, listed in Annex II to Council Decision 79/542/EEC should be used for imports into, or transit through, the Community of meat of wild leporidae and of farmed rabbits. The list of countries should be laid down for imports into or transit through, the Community of meat of wild land mammals other than ungulates and leporidae.

(8) Specific conditions for transit via the Community of consignments to and from Russia should be provided for, owing to the geographical situation of Kaliningrad which only concerns Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

(9) To avoid any disruption of trade, the use of the veterinary certificates issued in accordance with Decision 2000/585/EC should be authorised during a transitional period.

(10) In the interests of clarity of Community legislation, Commission Decision 2000/585/EC should be repealed and replaced by this Regulation.

(11) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Subject matter and scope
Article 1 

1. This Regulation lays down:
(a) a list of third countries  and makes provision for the specification for the purposes of this Regulation by the Secretary of State, with the consent of the Scottish Ministers (in relation to Scotland) and the Welsh Ministers (in relation to Wales), of third countries or parts  thereof from which the following commodities may be imported into, or transit through  Great Britain:
((i)) meat of wild leporidae not containing offal, except for unskinned and uneviscerated wild leporidae;
((ii)) meat of wild land mammals other than ungulates and leporidae, not containing offal;
((iii)) meat of farmed rabbits;
(b) the veterinary certification requirements for the commodities listed in points (i), (ii) and (iii) (the commodities).
2. ... For the purposes of this Regulation, transit covers storage during transit (including putting into storage, as referred to in  Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2124).
3. This Regulation shall apply without prejudice to:
((i)) specific certification requirements provided for in  agreements between the United Kingdom and  third countries;
((ii)) the relevant rules on certification contained within legislation implementing Regulation (EC) No 338/97 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein.
Interpretation
Article 2 
For the purposes of this Regulation—
(a)) “additional guarantee” means the guarantee given under paragraph 2 of Article 2a;
(b)) “wild leporidae” means wild rabbits and hares.
Additional guarantees
Article 2a 

(1. The Secretary of State, with the consent of the Scottish Ministers (in relation to Scotland) and the Welsh Ministers (in relation to Wales), may impose conditions relating to the protection of public health, animal health or food safety in Great Britain on the import of a commodity from a third country listed in Part 1 of Annex 1, or a part thereof.
(2. The person exporting the commodity from the third country to Great Britain, or another person acting on their behalf, must provide evidence that any condition imposed under paragraph 1 in relation to the commodity is satisfied by giving an additional guarantee in accordance with the veterinary certificate for the commodity concerned.
(3. The Secretary of State must publish any conditions imposed under paragraph 1 and the commodities to which they relate in a document published for the purposes of this Article.
Code of third country or part thereof
Article 2b 
The Secretary of State, with the consent of the Scottish Ministers (in relation to Scotland) and the Welsh Ministers (in relation to Wales), may specify in a document published for the purposes of this Article a system of words, letters or numbers representing, for the purposes of a veterinary certificate under this Regulation, a third country listed in Part 1 of Annex 1, or part thereof.
... Third countries or parts thereof from which commodities may be imported into, or transit through,  Great Britain
Article 3 
The commodities that may be imported into, or transited through, Great Britain from a third country are confined to those from  such of the third countries  listed in Part 1 of Annex I or parts thereof, as the Secretary of State, with the consent of the Scottish Ministers (in relation to Scotland) and the Welsh Ministers (in relation to Wales), may specify in a document published for the purposes of this Article; and in this Regulation  “third country” means any country or territory other the British Islands.
Veterinary certification
Article 4 

1. Commodities imported into  Great Britain  shall be accompanied by a veterinary certificate drawn up in accordance with the model certificate  , in the form published by the appropriate authority from time to time, for the commodity concerned ....
2. Commodities in transit through  Great Britain  shall be accompanied by a certificate drawn up in accordance with the model certificate  , in the form published by the appropriate authority from time to time.
3. Compliance with the additional guarantees, as required  for Great Britain,  shall be certified by completing the appropriate section in the veterinary certificate for the commodity concerned.
4. Electronic certification ... may be used.
(5.) “Appropriate authority” means the Secretary of State (in relation to England), the Welsh Ministers (in relation to Wales) and the Scottish Ministers (in relation to Scotland); but the  “appropriate authority” is the Secretary of State if consent is given by:
(a) in relation to Wales, the Welsh Ministers;
(b) in relation to Scotland, the Scottish Ministers.
Derogation for transit through Latvia, Lithuania and Poland
Article 5 
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Matters relating to the exercise of powers under this Regulation
Article 5a 

(1.) The powers exercisable by the Secretary of State, with the consent of the Scottish Ministers (in relation to Scotland) and the Welsh Ministers (in relation to Wales), under the provisions listed in paragraph 2 may be exercised only where it is necessary or appropriate to do so in the light of an assessment of the risk to animal or public health in the United Kingdom, taking into account the animal health criteria and the public health criteria.
(2.) The provisions are—
(a) Article 2a (additional guarantees)
(b) Article 3 (specification of third countries or parts thereof from which commodities may be imported into, or transit through, Great Britain).
(3.) Any assessment which is relied upon for the purposes of paragraph 1 must have been approved by the Secretary of State, the Scottish Ministers (in relation to Scotland) and the Welsh Ministers (in relation to Wales).
(4.) Where the Scottish Ministers or the Welsh Ministers request that the Secretary of State exercise a power under a provision listed in paragraph 2, the Secretary of State must have regard to that request.
(5.) In this Article—
 “animal health criteria” means the criteria set out in Schedule 1 to the Trade in Animals and Animal Products (Legislative Functions) and Veterinary Surgeons (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019;
 “public health criteria” means the criteria set out in Schedule 2 to those Regulations.
Repeal
Article 6 
Decision 2000/585/EC is repealed.
References to the repealed Decision shall be construed as references to this Regulation and shall be read in accordance with the correlation table in Annex IV.
Transitional provisions
Article 7 
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Entry into force and applicability
Article 8 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
It shall apply from 1 June 2009.
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ANNEX I
MEAT OF WILD LEPORIDAE, OF CERTAIN WILD LAND MAMMALS AND OF FARMED RABBITS
PART 1 List of third countries ... 


Country ... Leporidae Wild land mammals other than ungulates and leporidae
Wild Farmed rabbits
MC ... MC ... MC ...
1  3 4 5 6 7 8
Australia  WL  RM  WM 
Canada  WL  RM  WM 
EU member States, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway ...    WL  RM  WM 
Greenland  WL  RM  WM 
New Zealand  WL  RM  WM 
Russia  WL  RM  WM 
Any other third country  listed  in Part 1 of Annex II to  Commission Regulation (EU) No 206/2010, or territories or parts of those third countries, specified by the Secretary of State, with the consent of the Scottish Ministers (in relation to Scotland) and the Welsh Ministers (in relation to Wales) under Article 14 of that Regulation in a document published for the purposes of that Article WL  RM   
MCModel veterinary certificate.AGAdditional guarantees.
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PART 2 Model veterinary certificates 

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PART 3 Additional guarantees 

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PART 4 Notes for veterinary certification 

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ANNEX II
MODEL VETERINARY CERTIFICATES FOR THE IMPORT OF MEAT OF WILD LEPORIDAE, CERTAIN WILD LAND MAMMALS AND FARMED RABBITS INTO THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY
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ANNEX III. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

ANNEX IV
(as referred to in Article 6)

Correlation TableDecision 2000/585/EC This Regulation
Article 2 Article 1
— Article 2
Article 2a (a) Article 3
Article 2a (b, c and d) Article 4
Article 2b Article 5
Article 4(1) Article 6
Article 4(2) Article 7
Article 3 Article 8