International trade: EU exports - Scrapie Monitoring Scheme
Sheep and goats for export to other EC Member States, for breeding, must originate from holdings which comply with scrapie monitoring requirements. Essentially, these are that:
- the holding is subject to official veterinary checks
- the animals are marked
- no case of scrapie has been confirmed on the holding for at least three years
- checking by brain sampling has taken place on a proportion of cull ewes
- female animals are only introduced onto the holding from similarly monitored holdings
These requirements are laid down in Commission Regulation (EC) No.999/2001 (article 15 and annex 8) on animal health conditions governing intra-Community trade in sheep and goats. The Department operates a voluntary certification scheme whereby farmers can demonstrate, on an annual basis, compliance with these monitoring requirements. Farmers who are accepted into the scheme receive a certificate of registration which they must renew annually. In the first instance farmers should contact their Animal Health Divisional Office to request a copy of the rules and an application (or renewal) form for the scrapie export register.
Further information on scrapie is available on the Defra BSE site.
Page last modified:
22 May, 2006