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Section 6: Travel Documentation & Sea Transport
Animal Transport Certificates ( ATCs)
6.1. ATCs (or equivalent documentation) will continue to be required for journeys where Journey Logs (see paragraph 6.6) are not required (Article 4). They apply to journeys of any length connected with an economic activity. There are two exceptions. The first exception is where farmers use their own vehicles to carry their own animals on journeys of up to 50km from their holdings. The other exception is where farmers have to carry out seasonal movements of animals because of geographical circumstances (seasonal transhumance).
6.2. The main purpose of ATCs is to allow inspectors to verify journey details including journey time limits where these apply. The information currently required is:
- Origin and ownership of the animals
- Place of departure and destination
- Date and time of departure
6.3. The new Regulation requires one extra piece of information to be kept, that of the expected length of the journey. This will further help transporters and Inspectors ensure that journeys are within the maximum journey times for the animals and that the appropriate standard of vehicle is being used.
6.4. The records are currently kept solely by the transporter and must be retained for 6 months. There is no time limit in the new Regulation, but for enforcement purposes it is proposed to carry this retention period forward from WATO.
6.5. There is no prescribed format in which information required on an ATC is kept. The current form ( ERA 21) that transporters may use will be amended to add the new requirements. But transporters may use any other documents containing the required information, such as delivery notes or Animal Movements Licences ( AMLs). We are looking at amending the latter to add the new journey duration requirement.
Q.29 Do you agree the retention period for ATCs should remain and unchanged? If not, what would you suggest and why?
Q.30 Do you agree that Animal Movement Licences should be amended to include journey duration? |
Journey Logs - Transporting Animals outside the UK
6.6. These will replace Route Plans from 5 January 2007 and include new provisions that will aid compliance checking. A Journey Log is required for journeys of unregistered horses 12 and livestock on long journeys (over 8 hours) between member states and third countries. It will not be required for journeys solely with in the UK.
6.7. The Journey Log is in 5 parts:
- Planning: The information required here is the equivalent of page 1 of the Route Plan but in a different format. This is where the transporter or organiser of the journey sets out the planned route. There are new requirements in that the estimated weight of the consignment and the space provided must be added, along with the expected duration of the journey.
- Place of Departure: This is a new section where the keeper of the animals (e.g. farmer or assembly centre operator) confirms when the animals were loaded, how many, whether they are fit and the vehicle registration. There is also provision for an Inspector to report on fitness to transport, vehicle compliance and transport practices. Although not required by the Regulation, in order to assist enforcement in the UK, i t is proposed to add to this section of the Journey Log the requirement for the keeper to check and confirm the vehicle has a valid authorisation and vehicle approval and (from 5 January 2008) that the drivers/attendants have valid certificates of competence and that loading may not begin if there is non-compliance. The requirement to check authorisations and competence certification only appears in Section 3 of the Journey Log (i.e. at the place of destination). However we consider it is more sensible to prevent problems at the outset of the journey, rather than at the destination as is currently provided for in the EU Journey Log.
- Place of Destination: This is a new section. The keeper at the place of destination (or official veterinarian if carrying out a check) must confirm compliance and report on the number of animals received, and how many were fit, unfit and dead.
- Declaration by Transporter: This is the equivalent to the back page of the current Route Plan, although in a different format, and records the actual journey as opposed to the planned journey, commenting on any differences in the proposed itinerary. A new feature is the requirement to state the number and reason for any injuries and deaths during the journey.
- Anomaly Report: Anyone finding any non-compliance at any stage during the journey is required to fill this out and send it to the competent authority with a copy of the planning section.
6.8. A new requirement is that the Journey Log must be kept by the keeper at the place of destination for three years from the date of arrival of the animals and be made available to the competent authority on request. The transporter must retain a copy for three years (6 months at present) and a copy (not the original as at present) must be returned to the issuing office within a month of the journey. This is more than the 15-day requirement in current UK rules. It is proposed to add this requirement to the Journey Log along with the address of the issuing office and a place for the issuing office to stamp sign and date the document to show the plan has been checked before the journey.
Q.31 Do you agree with the proposal to require the keeper checks the transporters documentation at the place of departure? If not, why not - and what would you propose instead?
Q.32 Do you think the proposal relating to adding information on records retention & office checks is helpful? If not, why not and what would you add? |
Processing Journey Log applications
6.9. Transporters (using a company stamp) must complete Section 1 of the journey log, give each log a unique number and stamp & sign every page. The template form and instructions for a Journey Log will be available in due course on the SEERAD & Defra websites or in hard copy. Once completed by the transporter it should be passed for checking to the Animal Health Divisional Office ( AHDO) in the area in which the journey will start, as is the case with current Route Plans. The (original) log must be submitted with the corresponding application for health certification at least 2 working days before departure. However, we will continue to expect applications to be submitted 10 days before the intended journey (as is currently required for Route Plans) to allow reasonable time for processing, necessary checks, resolving any problems, and for sending the Journey Log to Local Veterinary Inspectors. Logs will be processed if submitted later but may not be issued in time if the necessary checks cannot be made in time - in which case the export will be delayed.
6.10. On receipt, the AHDO will check that there are valid vehicle approval and competence certificates and that the transporter is authorised. If the route is a new one the log will be copied to a central point to check the proposed journey is realistic and in compliance with the Regulation. Once all this has been verified, the Journey Log will be stamped, signed and dated and sent to the Local Veterinary Inspector for the pre-export checks to be made. The Journey Logs will be valid for 10 days from the date the Log was stamped. If the journey is delayed beyond this, a new Journey Log should be submitted. This is the same procedure as currently applied for Route Plans.
Data use
6.11. As is the case with route plans, information from the journey logs will be passed to appropriate enforcement officers to enable them to carry out random or targeted compliance checks and may be made available to enforcement agencies or others to aid any investigations or prosecutions. Information will also be used to produce non-attributable statistics.
| Q.33 Do you agree that as far as practicable the current route plan procedure should be retained following the introduction of Journey Logs? In particular, the 10 day notification period? If not, why not & what would you propose? |
Sea Transport
6.12. The Regulation lays down various standards and requirements for sea transport of animals.
6.13 Livestock vessels are defined as "a vessel which is used or intended to be used for the carriage of domestic Equidae or domestic animals of bovine, ovine, caprine or porcine species - other than a roll-on roll-off vessel, and other than a vessel carrying animals in moveable containers" (Article 2.1). Livestock vessels will require prior inspection and approval (valid for up to 5 years) by the Competent Authority (Article 19) for any voyage from a Community port which exceeds 10 nautical miles and where domestic Equidae and/or domestic animals of bovine, ovine, caprine or porcine species are to be carried (Article 7.2). Because of the small number of vessels that may require approval, we propose that inspection and approval be carried out by the State Veterinary Service.
6.14 All 'Means of Transport', including livestock vessels, will have to comply with the general provisions, as applicable, in Annex I Chapters II and III and livestock vessels will have to meet the additional provisions in Annex I Chapter IV. Those livestock vessels for use on long journeys (voyages) will have to comply with the additional provisions in Annex I Chapter VI.
6.15 Livestock vessels will also be inspected by the Competent Authority before any loading of (any) animals (Article 20.1).
6.16 Defra are preparing guidance on sea transport standards for the construction and use of livestock vessels and for other types of vessels and sea containers used to transport animals in order to assist with uniform and practical application of the Regulation. Latest drafts will be placed on the Defra website http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/welfare/farmed/transport.htm .
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