(1)

Regulation (EU) No 576/2013 lays down the animal health requirements applicable to non-commercial movements of pet animals, including birds referred to in Part B of Annex I thereto (pet birds), and it provides that preventive health measures may be adopted by means of delegated acts for the protection of animal and public health from diseases or infections that are likely to be spread due to non-commercial movements of pet birds into a Member State from a territory or third country.

(2)

Regulation (EU) No 576/2013 also provides that the preventive health measures are to be based on adequate, reliable and validated scientific information and are to be applied proportionately to the risk to public or animal health of the spread of those diseases or infections via cross-border movements of pet birds.

(3)

In the interests of simplicity and transparency of Union rules, as well as to facilitate the application of those rules and avoid duplication, the rules for non-commercial movements of pet birds into a Member State from a territory or third country should be laid down in a single act rather than in a number of cross-referenced separate acts. This approach is also in line with the current approach in the area of Union legislation on animal health, such as that adopted in Regulation (EU) 2016/429 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2), which favours the streamlining of Union rules to facilitate their application and reduce the administrative burden.

(4)

Avian influenza is an infectious viral disease of birds which can have a negative impact on animal and public health. In particular, infections with avian influenza viruses in domestic poultry cause two main forms of that disease that are distinguished by their virulence. The low pathogenic form generally only causes mild symptoms, while the highly pathogenic form results in very high mortality rates in most poultry species. Therefore, that disease may have a severe impact on the profitability of poultry farming. Furthermore, although avian influenza is mainly found in birds, under certain circumstances infections can also occur in humans even though the risk is generally very low.

(5)

Following the first occurrence, in 2005, of a case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) of subtype H5N1, in a captive bird introduced into the Union, Commission Decision 2005/759/EC (3) laid down protection measures aimed at preventing the introduction and spread of the HPAI virus through movements into the Union of pet birds accompanying their owners. Decision 2005/759/EC was repealed and replaced by Commission Decision 2007/25/EC (4) due to the continuing risks to animal health posed by such movements. Decision 2007/25/EC was further amended due to changes in the epidemiological situation in the Union and its date of application was prolonged several times, the last time by Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2020/2107 (5). Decision 2007/25/EC will now elapse on 31 December 2021.

(6)

However, since the global threat of avian influenza has increased in recent years, and the epidemiological situation is not expected to improve in the near future, it is appropriate to establish permanent protection measures within the framework of Regulation (EU) No 576/2013, in order to ensure that non-commercial movements of pet birds into the Union do not pose a risk for the introduction and spread of the avian influenza virus.

(7)

Certain territories and third countries apply animal health rules for the non-commercial movement into their territory of pet birds, which are equivalent to the rules laid down in this Regulation. Therefore, the non-commercial movements of pet birds from those territories and third countries into the Union can be considered to present a minimal animal health risk to the Union, and the rules for non-commercial movements of pet birds laid down in this Regulation should not apply to the non-commercial movements into the Union of pet birds from those particular territories and third countries.

(8)

In order to prevent commercial movements of birds into the Union being fraudulently disguised as non-commercial movements, the maximum number of pet birds that may accompany their owner or an authorised person should be limited to five pet birds in a single non-commercial movement. As a higher number of birds represents a higher risk for the introduction and spread of the avian influenza virus, movements into the Union of more than five pet birds should not be regarded as a single non-commercial movement of pet birds, and such movements should not fall within the scope of the rules laid down in this act. Instead, such movements should continue to be carried out in accordance with the requirements for the entry into the Union of captive birds laid down in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/692 (6), and also be subject to official controls at border control posts as laid down in Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council (7).

(9)

In addition, this act should lay down rules concerning the means to identify pet birds to be moved into a Member State from a territory or third country, in order to ensure that a link between the pet bird and the corresponding identification document can be made.

(10)

In its scientific opinion on avian influenza, first published on 16 October 2017 (8), the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) considered the animal health requirements laid down in Decision 2007/25/EC to be effective in mitigating the risks of the introduction into the Union of the avian influenza virus via non-commercial movements of pet birds into Member States from territories or third countries. Therefore, the animal health requirements laid down in that Decision should be used as the basis for the requirements laid down in this Regulation.

(11)

The preventive health measures for non-commercial movements of pet birds into the Union should provide for several options of requirements for their entry, including isolation, either prior to such non-commercial movements or at the place of destination, and also pre-movement testing for the H5 and H7 sub-types of the HPAI virus and vaccination against H5 and H7 sub-types of the HPAI virus.

(12)

However, the option of isolation prior to the non-commercial movement into the Union should only be allowed for pet birds originating in territories or third countries which have been assessed for avian influenza and other diseases relevant for the avian species. Therefore, this option should be limited to the third countries or territories listed in the table set out in Part 1 of Annex V, Annex XIV or Annex XIX to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/404 (9) for the entry into the Union of poultry and germinal products of poultry, fresh meat of poultry and game birds, or eggs and egg products, respectively.

(13)

Furthermore, as regards the option of isolation of pet birds at the place of destination, this should only be carried out in an establishment that can guarantee the animal health status of the animals. It should, therefore, be required that under this option, pet birds are to be placed in a quarantine establishment approved in accordance with Article 14 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2035 (10).

(14)

To further mitigate the risks of the spread of the avian influenza virus into the Union via non-commercial movements of pet birds from territories or third countries, it should be prohibited to enter those pet birds in shows, fairs, exhibitions or other gatherings of birds for an appropriate period of time following their entry into the Union. It should, therefore, be required that during that period of time pet birds are isolated under official control, in accordance with the official control provided for in Article 35(1), point (b) of Regulation (EU) No 576/2013.

(15)

Compliance with the requirements laid down in this Regulation should be certified by an official veterinarian of the territory or third country of dispatch or alternatively by an authorised veterinarian and subsequently endorsed by the competent authority of the territory or third country of dispatch, in accordance with the veterinary certificate laid down in the Annex to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1938 (11), which is to be applied in tandem with the rules laid down in this Regulation.

(16)

In order to avoid a legal gap in the rules for the non-commercial movement of pet birds into a Member State from territories or third countries, this Regulation should apply from 1 January 2022, as the rules laid down herein replace a number of the rules currently laid down in Decision 2007/25/EC, which applies until 31 December 2021,