Authorised Separation Agreements
In addition to specific exemptions, standstill periods may be avoided if an Authorised Separation Agreement is put in place.
Under this arrangement, which is subject to prior authorisation with local RPID offices, where animals are brought onto any holding and held separately from other animals on the farm, the 13 or 20 day standstill period will apply only to the animals brought on and not to the other animals on the farm. Alternatively, animals to be moved off a holding could be held in the Authorised Separation Facilities to ensure that they would not be caught by any standstill triggered by on-coming livestock.
As detailed in the Disease Control (Interim Measures) ( Scotland ) Order 2002 (as amended) the animals kept separate must:
- be separated from other animals on the premises and on adjoining premises by a natural barrier which may include fields which are empty of animals or an area of woodland or a stream and this separation must be adequate to prevent nose to nose contact with other animals; or
- be separated from other animals on the premises and on adjoining premises by solid walls or barriers in buildings and this separation must be adequate to prevent nose to nose contact with other animals;
- be kept within fields, paddocks or buildings which must contain separate feeding and water troughs;
- be kept within fields, paddocks or buildings which must be fenced with fencing kept in good repair so as to be made proof against the escape of animals;
- be inspected by the owner or person in charge of them for signs of disease (if they are the animals which were brought on to the farm) at a frequency not less than daily for the appropriate period for which they must remain on the premises.
In addition to the above, in order to maintain correct biosecurity, any persons handling animals brought on to the premises and kept separate must:
- have their soiled clothing and footwear (which must be able to be properly cleansed and disinfected) cleansed and disinfected with an approved disinfectant or removed before handling other animals (this would include any visitors to the fields, paddocks or buildings where animals are kept separate who have had access to any animals within the 7 days prior to the day of the visit);
- not take any vehicles into the fields, paddocks or buildings unless doing so is necessary for the purposes of the welfare and essential husbandry of the separated livestock and in the event that such vehicles are taken in, the wheels and wheel arches of the vehicles must be cleansed and disinfected before those vehicles are used in circumstances where they may come into contact with or close proximity to other animals;
- be informed, by the owner or person in charge of the animals, of which animals are held separately;
- be informed, by the owner or person in charge of the animals, of the requirements under which the animals are held
Persons, before handling animals to be moved which are being kept separate from the remainder of the animals on the premises to enable them to be moved-off within 13 days of brought-on animals (or 20 days if pigs are involved), must -
- wear footwear which can be properly cleansed and disinfected or remove the footwear used;
- be cleansed and disinfected with an approved disinfectant;
- after handling animals which have been brought on to the premises even though they have not been kept separate, comply with all the biosecurity requirements laid out above.
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Applications
Applications for Authorised Separation Agreements can be printed out, completed and posted to the appropriate local RPID area office, from which further assistance is also available. Contact details for the offices is attached to the Notes for Guidance for Authorised Separation Agreements.
Please note that the form cannot be completed online.
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