Slaughter Premium Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001

Part IIntroduction

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Slaughter Premium Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 and shall come into operation on 6th June 2001.

Interpretation

2.—(1) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(1) shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

(2) In these Regulations—

“application period” means the period in which claimants are eligible to apply for slaughter premium in any given year;

“authorised person” means a person who is authorised by the Department, either generally or specially, to act, subject to regulation 17, in matters arising under these Regulations;

“bovine animal” means an animal of the domestic bovine species;

“cattle passport” means, in relation to a bovine premium animal—

“claim” means a claim for slaughter premium;

“claimant” means a producer who submits a claim for slaughter premium;

“claimant’s document” means any of the following documents or records, whether in writing or kept by means of a computer—

“Commission Regulation 3887/92” means Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 3887/92 laying down detailed rules for applying the integrated administration and control system for certain Community aid schemes(5);

“Commission Regulation 2342/1999” means Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2342/1999 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1254/1999 on the common organisation of the market in beef and veal as regards premium schemes(6), as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1042/2000(7) and Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1900/2000(8);

“the Community rules” means the rules concerning slaughter premium laid down in Articles 11, 21 and 23 of Council Regulation 1254/1999 and Chapter V of Commission Regulation 2342/1999 and the rules concerning the content of claims laid down in Article 5 of, and reduction of Community aid laid down in Articles 10, 10b, 10c and 10d of Commission Regulation 3887/92;

“computerised database” means the Animal and Public Health Information System (APHIS) as provided for in Article 5 of Regulation 1760/2000;

“Council Regulation 820/97” means Council Regulation (EC) No. 820/97 establishing a system for the identification and registration of bovine animals and regarding the labelling of beef and beef products(9);

“Council Regulation 1254/1999” means Council Regulation (EC) No. 1254/1999 on the common organisation of the market in beef and veal(10);

“Department” means the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development;

“eartag number” means—

as the case may be;

“electronic communication” has the same meaning as in the Electronic Communications Act 2000(13);

“holding” means all production units managed by a producer situated within the United Kingdom;

“the IACS Regulations” means the Integrated Administration and Control System Regulations 1993(14);

“notification document” means the pre-printed document supplied by the Department from its computerised database to producers whose animals have been slaughtered during the application period;

“officer” means a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of a claimant, or any person who purports to act in any such capacity;

“overgrazing” means grazing land with livestock in such numbers as to adversely affect the growth, quality or species composition of vegetation (other than vegetation normally grazed to destruction) on that land to a significant degree and “overgrazed” shall be construed accordingly;

“premium adult animal” means a bovine animal at least eight months old at the time of its slaughter in respect of which a claim has been or will be submitted, other than a premium older animal;

“premium animal” means a premium adult animal, a premium calf and a premium older animal;

“premium calf” means a bovine animal at least one, but less than seven months old at the time of its slaughter and with a carcase weight of less than 160 kilograms, in respect of which a claim has been or will be submitted;

“premium older animal” means a bovine animal in respect of which a claim has been or will be submitted, which is slaughtered on the day after it attains the age of thirty months, or later;

“producer” has the same meaning as in Chapter 1 of Title I of Council Regulation 1254/1999;

“Regulation 1760/2000” means Regulation (EC) No. 1760/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a system for the identification and registration of bovine animals and regarding the labelling of beef and beef products and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No. 820/97(15);

“relevant competent authority” has the same meaning as in the IACS Regulations;

“retention period” means the minimum period, referred to in Article 37 of Commission Regulation 2342/1999, for which a claimant must hold a premium animal, which is—

“slaughter premium” means a premium granted pursuant to Article 11 of Council Regulation 1254/1999 to a producer keeping bovine animals on his holding, on the slaughter of a bovine animal;

“specified control measure” means any check which a member State is required to carry out under Article 6 of Commission Regulation 3887/92; and

“unsuitable supplementary feeding methods” means providing supplementary feed (other than to maintain livestock during abnormal weather conditions) in such a manner as to result in damage to vegetation through excessive trampling or poaching of land by livestock or excessive rutting by vehicles.

(3) A reference in these Regulations to anything done in writing or produced in written form includes a reference to an electronic communication which has been recorded and is consequently capable of being reproduced.

(4) Any reference in these Regulations to a Community instrument is a reference to that instrument as amended on the date on which these Regulations are made.