Citation and commencement

1.  This Order may be cited as the Welfare of Animals (Transport) (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 1999 and shall come into force on 27th September 1999.

Amendment of the Welfare of Animals (Transport) Order (Northern Ireland) 1997

2.—(1) After Article 11 of the Welfare of Animals (Transport) Order (Northern Ireland) 1997(4) there shall be inserted the following Article—

“11A.  A person shall not use a road vehicle for the transportation of animals to which Article 1 of Council Regulation (EC) No. 411/98 on additional protection standards applicable to road vehicles used for the carriage of livestock on journeys exceeding eight hours(5) applies in connection with a journey to which that Article applies in contravention of that Regulation.”.

(2) For paragraph 2 of Part I of Schedule 7 there shall be substituted the following paragraph—

“2.  The maximum journey time in paragraph 1 may be extended where the transporting vehicle—

(a)meets the requirements specified in the Annex to Council Regulation (EC) No. 411/98 on additional protection standards applicable to road vehicles used for the carriage of livestock on journeys exceeding eight hours; or

(b)is not a road vehicle and meets the following additional requirements—

(i)there is sufficient bedding on the floor of the vehicle;

(ii)it carries appropriate feed for the animal species transported and for the journey time;

(iii)direct access to the animals may be gained from inside the vehicle without it having to be unloaded;

(iv)there is adequate ventilation which may be adjusted depending on the temperature (inside and outside);

(v)there are moveable panels for creating separate compartments;

(vi)it is equipped for connection to a water supply during stops;

(vii)in the case of vehicles for transporting pigs, sufficient water is carried for watering during the journey.”.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order.)

This Order amends the Welfare of Animals (Transport) Order (Northern Ireland) 1997 (“the 1997 Order”). It makes provision for the enforcement of Council Regulation (EC) No. 411/98 (“the Regulation”) on additional animal protection standards applicable to road vehicles used for the carriage of livestock on journeys exceeding eight hours.

The Order provides that any person who uses a road vehicle for the transportation of animals in contravention of the Regulations shall be guilty of an offence under the Diseases of Animals Order (Northern Ireland) 1981. Accordingly, from 27th September 1999 the requirements of the Regulation shall apply to a road vehicle used to transport domestic horses, cattle, sheep, goats and pigs “livestock” on a journey exceeding 8 hours within the Community. There is a consequential amendment to Schedule 7 to the 1997 Order. The exemption in paragraph 2 of that Schedule from the prohibition on the transport of livestock on journeys exceeding eight hours now reflects the requirements of the Regulation for road vehicles carrying livestock on such journeys.