The Swine Vesicular Disease Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009

Measures following suspicion

13.—(1) This regulation shall apply where a veterinary inspector suspects that swine vesicular disease virus exists on any premises but this suspicion does not arise out of the fact that the premises have an epidemiological link with infected premises.

(2) Following service of a notice on the occupier on suspicion of swine vesicular disease, a veterinary inspector shall take all reasonable steps to establish whether or not the suspicion is correct.

(3) These shall include taking samples from any pigs on the premises (if there are any) and having them tested.

(4) When premises do not have pigs on them when the notice is served, the veterinary inspector may take samples from the pigs or carcases that have been on the premises, and may take environmental samples from the premises.

(5) If the tests carried out under paragraphs (3) and (4) demonstrate that—

(a)swine vesicular disease virus is in a pig or on the premises, or

(b)the premises contain pigs that are seropositive for swine vesicular disease and in addition those pigs or other pigs on the premises show clinical signs of swine vesicular disease,

the Department shall serve a notice on the occupier declaring the premises to be infected premises.

(6) If the tests carried out under paragraph (3) demonstrate that there are seropositive pigs on the premises, but none of the pigs on the premises shows clinical signs of swine vesicular disease, the Department shall—

(a)continue to monitor the premises and take further samples and test those samples, with an interval of 28 days at least between the samples taken when disease was first suspected and the samples taken under this sub-paragraph,

(b)declare the premises to be infected premises if the test on the further samples shows that swine vesicular disease virus exists in a pig on the premises,

(c)ensure that all pigs that have tested seropositive are—

(i)killed and destroyed under the supervision of an inspector, or

(ii)slaughtered in a slaughterhouse designated for the purpose by the Department where they are kept and slaughtered separately from other pigs,

and the Department shall remove the measures in Schedule 1 once all seropositive pigs have been killed or removed from the premises.

(7) If the tests at paragraphs (3) and (4) demonstrate that there is no swine vesicular disease virus in a pig or on the premises and that there are no seropositive pigs on the premises the veterinary inspector shall remove the measures in Schedule 1.