Delegated regulation 2020/689 - Supplement to Regulation 2016/429 as regards rules for surveillance, eradication programmes, and disease-free status for certain listed and emerging diseases - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 174/211

The Animal Health Law lays down rules for the prevention and control of animal diseases transmissible to animals or to humans. The rules laid down in this Regulation are required to supplement those laid down in Chapters 2, 3 and 4 of Part II of the Animal Health Law on surveillance, eradication programmes and disease-free status, as well as those in Part IX on transitional arrangements concerning existing surveillance or eradication programmes and existing disease-free status.

These rules are substantially linked with many intended to be applied together. In the interest of simplicity and transparency, as well as to facilitate their application and avoid a multiplication of rules, they should therefore be laid down in a single act rather than in a number of separate acts with many cross-references and the risk of duplication.

Indeed, surveillance represents an intrinsic part of any eradication programme and disease-free status is in most cases an outcome of a successful surveillance and eradication process. Moreover, surveillance is needed, besides other measures, as a key tool for maintaining the disease-free status after its achievement. The rules on surveillance, eradication programmes and disease-free status, including transitional rules, often serve common purposes and refer to complementary activities of operators, veterinarians and competent authorities. Therefore it is appropriate to group together these rules in a single delegated regulation.

Surveillance is a key element of an efficient and effective disease prevention and control policy. It should be implemented jointly by operators and the competent authority. It should also be designed to meet the objectives of early detection of outbreaks of any listed and emerging disease and to demonstrate compliance with the criteria for the granting, maintaining, suspension or withdrawal of disease-free status.

The competent authority should put in place a basic general surveillance system for listed and emerging diseases of terrestrial animals based on notification and investigations of disease events in targeted animal population.

These general surveillance requirements for terrestrial animals should be complemented by more specific requirements depending on the expected output of surveillance. They should be designed to serve different specific purposes such as Union surveillance programmes, compulsory and optional eradication programmes, demonstration of disease-free status, disease control measures, in the context of the approval of certain establishments and the movements of animals and animal products.

The approach to designing general surveillance requirements for aquatic animals is similar to that for terrestrial animals, although not identical. All aquaculture establishments need to implement a basic surveillance system based on notification and investigation of disease events in a targeted animal population. In...