(1)

Council Directive 2002/60/EC (4) lays down the minimum measures to be applied within the Union for the control of African swine fever, including the measures to be taken in the event of an outbreak of African swine fever and in cases where African swine fever is suspected or confirmed in feral pigs. Those measures include plans to be developed and implemented by Member States, and approved by the Commission, for the eradication of African swine fever from a feral pig population.

(2)

Commission Decision 2005/363/EC (5) was adopted in response to the presence of African swine fever in Sardinia, Italy. That Decision lays down animal health rules on the movement, dispatch and marking of pigs and certain pig products from Sardinia, in order to prevent the spread of that disease to other areas of the Union.

(3)

In addition, Commission Decision 2005/362/EC (6) approved a plan submitted by Italy to the Commission for the eradication of African swine fever in feral pigs in Sardinia.

(4)

In 2014, cases of African swine fever in feral pigs, more specifically in wildboar, occurred in Lithuania and Poland due to the introduction of the African swine fever virus from neighbouring third countries where that disease is present. In order to focus the control measures and to prevent disease spread as well as to prevent any unnecessary disturbance to trade within the Union and to avoid unjustified barriers to trade by third countries, a Union list of infected areas in those countries was urgently established in collaboration with the Member States concerned by means of Commission Implementing Decision 2014/93/EU (7) and Commission Implementing Decision 2014/134/EU (8) which both apply until 30 April 2014.

(5)

African swine fever can be considered an endemic disease in the domestic and feral pig populations of certain third countries bordering the Union and represents a permanent threat for the Union.

(6)

The disease situation is liable to endanger the pig herds in other regions of Lithuania, Italy and Poland and also in other Member States, notably in view of trade in commodities from porcine animals.

(7)

Lithuania and Poland have taken measures to combat African swine fever within the framework of Directive 2002/60/EC and they are due to submit their plan for the eradication of African swine fever in feral pigs to the Commission for approval in accordance with Article 16 of that Directive.

(8)

It is appropriate that the Member States and areas concerned are listed in an Annex differentiated by the level of risk considering the epidemiological situation of African swine fever and whether it concerns both pigs holdings and the feral pig population (Part III), only the feral pig population (Part II) or the risk is due to certain proximity to the infection in the feral population (Part I).

(9)

In terms of risk of spread of African swine fever, movements of different porcine commodities pose different levels of risk. As a general rule the movement of live pigs, their semen, ova and embryos and animal by-products of porcine origin from infected areas pose higher risks in terms of exposure and consequences than the movement of meat, meat preparations and meat products as indicated in the Scientific Opinion of the European Food Safety Authority of 2010 (9). Therefore, the dispatch of live pigs and their semen, ova and embryos, animal by-products of porcine origin as well as the dispatch of certain meat, meat preparations and meat products from designated zones of the Member States listed in the Annex to this Decision should be prohibited. This prohibition includes all suidae as referred to in Council Directive 92/65/EEC (10).

(10)

In order to take account of the different risk levels depending on the type of porcine commodities and the epidemiological situation in the Member States concerned, it is appropriate to provide for certain derogations for each type of porcine commodity from the territories listed in the different Parts of the Annex hereto. Those derogations are also in line with the risk mitigation measures for importation as regards African swine fever indicated in the Terrestrial Animal Health Code of the World Organization for Animal Health. The additional safeguard measures and health requirements or treatments applicable for those derogations should also be provided for in this Decision.

(11)

Council Directive 64/432/EEC (11) and Commission Decision 93/444/EEC (12) provide that health certificates are to accompany the movements of animals. Where derogations from the prohibition on the dispatch of live pigs from areas listed in the Annex to this Decision are applied to live pigs intended for intra-Union trade or for export to a third country, those health certificates should include a reference to this Decision so to ensure that adequeate and accurate health information is provided in the relevant certificates.

(12)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 599/2004 (13) provides that health certificates are to accompany the movements of certain products of animal origin. In order to prevent the spread of African swine fever to other areas of the Union, where a Member State is subject to a prohibition on the dispatch of fresh pigmeat, meat preparations and meat products consisting of, or containing pigmeat from certain parts of its territory, certain requirements should be laid down, in particular as regards certification, for the dispatch of such meat, meat preparations and meat products from other areas of the territory of that Member State not subject to that prohibition and those health certificates should include a reference to this Decision.

(13)

In addition, it is appropriate, in order to prevent the spread of African swine fever to other areas of the Union and to third countries, to provide that the dispatch of fresh pigmeat, meat preparations and meat products consisting of, or containing meat of pigs from Member States with areas listed in the Annex, is subject to certain more stringent conditions. In particular, such fresh pigmeat, meat preparations and pigmeat products should be marked with special marks which cannot be confused with the the identification mark provided for in Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council (14) and with the health marks for pigmeat provided for in Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council (15).

(14)

The period of application of the measures provided for in this Decision should take account of the epidemiology of African swine fever and the conditions to regain the African swine fever free status according to the Terrestrial Animal Health Code of the World Organization for Animal Health and therefore this period should last at least until 31 December 2017.

(15)

Implementing Decisions 2014/93/EU and 2014/134/EU should be repealed and replaced by this Decision. Decision 2005/363/EC has been amended several times. Therefore, it is appropriate to repeal that Decision and replace it by this Decision.

(16)

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,

(a)

the dispatch of live pigs from the areas listed in Parts II or III of the Annex;

(b)

the dispatch of consignments of porcine semen, ova and embryos from the areas listed in Part III of the Annex;

(c)

the dispatch of consignments of pig meat, pig meat preparations, pig meat products and any other products containing pig meat from the areas listed in Part III of the Annex;

(d)

the dispatch of consignments of animal by-products from porcine animals from the areas listed in Part III of the Annex.

1.

the pigs have been subjected to laboratory testing for African swine fever carried out with negative results on samples taken in accordance with the sampling procedures as laid down in the plan for the eradication of African swine fever referred to in the second paragraph of Article 1 of this Decision within a period of 15 days prior to the date of the movement and a clinical examination for African swine fever has been carried out by an official veterinarian in accordance with the checking and sampling procedures laid down in Part A of Chapter IV of the Annex to Commission Decision 2003/422/EC (16) on the date of shipment, or

2.

the pigs come from a holding:

(a)

derived from pigs which have been kept since birth in holdings located outside the areas listed in the Annex, and the pig meat, pig meat preparations and pig meat products consisting of, or containing such meat, have been produced, stored and processed in establishments approved in accordance with Article 10; or

(b)

have been produced and processed in accordance with Article 4(1) of Directive 2002/99/EC.

(a)

porcine semen, unless the semen originates from boars kept at an approved collection centre as referred to in Article 3(a) of Council Directive 90/429/EEC (18) and situated outside the areas listed in Part II and Part III of the Annex to this Decision;

(b)

ova and embryos of animals of the porcine species, unless the ova and embryos originate from donor sows kept in holdings which comply with Article 6(2) and are situated outside the areas listed in Part II and III of the Annex and the embryos are conceived with semen in compliance with point (a).

(a)

have been produced and processed in compliance with Article 4(1) of Directive 2002/99/EC;

(b)

are subjected to veterinary certification in accordance with Article 5 of Directive 2002/99/EC;

(c)

are accompanied by the appropriate intra-Union trade health certificate as laid down by Regulation (EC) No 599/2004 of which Part II shall be completed by the following:

‘Products in accordance with Commission Implementing Decision 2014/178/EU of 27 March 2014 concerning animal health control measures relating to African swine fever in certain Member States (*2).

(*2)   OJ L 95, 29.3.2014, p. 48.’ "

(a)

the identification mark for meat preparations and meat products consisting of, or containing pig meat, as set out in Section I of Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004;

(b)

the health mark for fresh pig meat as set out in Chapter III of Section I of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 854/2004.

(a)

the conditions laid down in the second and the fourth to seventh indents of Article 15(2)(b) of Directive 2002/60/EC are applied in the pig holdings located within the areas listed in the Annex to this Decision;

(b)

vehicles which have been used for the transport of pigs or animal by-products from porcine animals originating from holdings located within the areas listed in the Annex to this Decision are cleansed and disinfected immediately following each operation and the transporter provides proof of such cleansing and disinfection.