Bird Gatherings General Licence
Animal Health Act 1981
The Avian Influenza and Influenza of Animal Origin in Mammals (Scotland) Order 2006 ("the Order")
The territory of Scotland
Bird Gatherings General Licence
1. The Scottish Ministers -
(a) revoke the bird gatherings general licence issued on 22nd November 2007, and
(b) grant a licence under article 6(1)(c) of the Order.
Definitions
2. In this licence-
'British Isles' means England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and the Isle of Man but it excludes the Channel Islands;
'controlled zone' means any premises under official surveillance, a temporary controlled zone, protection zone or surveillance zone (or the equivalent restrictions in another member State) provided for or under the Council Directive;
'council directive' means Council Directive 2005/94/EC of 20 December 2005 on Community measures for the control of avian influenza and repealing Directive 92/40/EEC;
'Disease-free' means, in respect of any area or premises, an area or premises that are not subject to any restriction in a controlled zone;
'Epidemiological group' means a group of birds with a defined epidemiological relationship that share approximately the same likelihood of exposure to a pathogen (for example, because they share a common environment or because of common management practices);
'Gathering' means a gathering of poultry or other captive birds from different epidemiological groups at one location;
'Event organiser' means the person who accepts the responsibility of ensuring the licence conditions are implemented; and
'Premise' includes any land, building or place (including car parks).
Permitted activities
3. This licence permits, subject to the conditions in the Schedule, the holding of a gathering of poultry and/or captive birds originating from disease-free premises for the purpose of a:
- Fair or market,
- A show, exhibition or other event, and
- Pigeon race.
Coming into force
4. The licence will come into effect at 00:01 hrs on 22 May 2008.
Charles Milne
Veterinary Inspector
Appointed by the Scottish Ministers
21 May 2008
Veterinary Division
Scottish Government
Pentland House
47 Robb's Loan
Edinburgh
EH14 1TY
Notes
(These notes do not form part of the licence)
1. A bird gathering not authorised by this licence is banned under the Order.
2. Premises includes temporary resting points, such as a car park or lay-by that may be used as a start or staging point in a pigeon race.
3. A breach of this licence is an offence under section 73 of the 1981 Act. The maximum penalty on summary conviction is 6 months imprisonment and/or a fine of £5000.
4. Terms used in the 1981 Act and the Order have the same meaning in this licence. For example, see section 87 of the 1981 Act for the meaning of "poultry", and article 2 of the Order for definitions of "poultry" and "veterinary surgeon".
SCHEDULE
General licence conditions
A Conditions applying to gatherings in Scotland other than pigeon races and pigeon training events into Scotland and falconry events in Scotland
1. A person is appointed to be the event organiser.
2. The event organiser must keep a record in respect of all exhibitors and vendors of birds, for at least 3 months after the event, which includes the following information:
a. full name;
b. home [and business (if any)] address;
c. address of where the birds were kept in the 28 day period before the event if different from home address of exhibitor or vendor;
d. telephone number;
e. number and types of birds held.
3. No person shall bring a bird to the event from a place outside [Scotland] ]Great Britain] [the United Kingdom] unless it has been kept at disease-free premises at that place for at least 28 days before the event.
4. The event organiser will ensure gatherings are not attended by any birds brought into the UK from any other EU Member State (excluding the Republic of Ireland) in the previous 28 days. (An EU wide ban on the import of live birds from third countries is currently in place).
5. The event organiser must ensure that a named veterinary surgeon (or another veterinary surgeon if the named person is unavailable) is contactable for advice and can attend in the event of any suspect disease.
6. The event organiser must ensure biosecurity advice is distributed at the event.
7. If sales of birds are taking place at the event, the event organiser must make all vendors aware that they must keep a record of all sales. The event organiser must keep the copy records for at least 3 months from the final day of the event. The event organiser must keep a record of sales, which includes the following information:
a. full names of the vendor and buyer;
b. home [and business (if any)] address of the vendor and buyer;
d. telephone number of the vendor and buyer;
e. number and types of birds sold.
8. The event organiser must notify the local Animal Health Office nearest to the event with as much notice as possible, and at least 7 days prior to the event taking place. Notification must include date, location, details of the event organiser and anticipated numbers and types of birds; this can take place within 7 days.
B Conditions applying to gatherings for pigeon races and pigeon training events (within Scotland and into Scotland from other parts of the British Isles, France, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and the Channel islands)
9. The event organiser must ensure that at each point of gathering a responsible person keeps the records set out in condition 10-15.
10. The responsible person must make a record of all participants and keep this for at least 3 months from the final day of the event. This record must include the following information for each:
a. full name;
b. home address and address of where the birds were kept prior to the event if different;
c. telephone number;
d. number of birds;
e. name of club to which the entrant/participant belongs (if affiliated);
f. ring numbers of individual birds
11. Participants and the event organiser will ensure that gatherings are not be attended by any birds brought into the UK from any other EU Member State (excluding the Republic of Ireland) in the previous 28 days. (An EU wide ban on the import of live birds from third countries is currently in place).
12. The event organiser will ensure that that a named veterinary surgeon (or another veterinary surgeon if the named person is unavailable) is contactable for advice and can attend in the event of any suspect disease. Any suspicion that gathered birds may have a notifiable disease must be reported to the local Animal Health Office.
13. The event organiser must ensure that biosecurity advice is distributed to entrants/ participants at the event.
14. The event organiser must notify the Animal Health Office nearest to the site of a gathering of birds with as much notice as possible, and at least 7 days prior to a pigeon race. Notification must include the date, place and time of the gathering, details of the event organiser and estimated numbers of birds. If changes to the timing of the gathering need to be made at short notice, e.g. in the event of bad weather, the Animal Health Office must be notified; this can take place within 7 days.
15. The secretary of any organisation organising a race should provide the AHOs nearest to the liberation sites with a seasonal racing programme in advance, followed by subsequent updates if necessary. Notification should include the date and place of forthcoming liberations, the approximate location of where the birds are returning to, the approximate route the birds will take during the race and contact details for a person who can stop the liberation at short notice.
C Conditions applying to birds of prey (falconry) events in Scotland
16. Birds of prey must be kept separate from poultry at the event.
17. A nominated person must be designated as the event organiser and a person responsible for keeping the records set out in condition 18.
18. The responsible person must make a record of all participants and keep this for at least 3 months from the final day of the event. The record must include the following information for each falconer:
a. full name;
b. home address and address of where the birds were kept prior to the event if different;
c. telephone number;
d. number and species of birds at the event.
19. The event organiser will ensure gatherings are not attended by any birds brought into the UK from any other EU Member State (excluding the Republic of Ireland) in the previous 28 days. (An EU wide ban on the import of live birds from third countries is currently in place).
20. The event organiser will ensure a named veterinary surgeon (or another veterinary surgeon if the named person is unavailable) is contactable for advice and can attend in the event of any suspect disease. Any suspicion that gathered birds may have a notifiable disease must be reported to the local Animal Health Office.
21. If sales of birds are taking place at the event, the event organiser must make all vendors aware that they must keep a record of all sales. The event organiser must keep these records for at least 3 months from the final day of the event. This must include the name, address and telephone number of both the seller and the buyer, and any identifying features or individual identification of the purchased bird(s).
22. The event organiser must ensure biosecurity advice is available at the event.
23. The event organiser must notify the local Animal Health Office nearest to the event with as much notice as possible, and at least 7 days prior to the event taking place. Notification must include date, location, details of the event organiser and anticipated numbers and types of birds. If changes to the timing of the gathering need to be made at short notice, in the event of circumstances such as bad weather, the Animal Health Office must be notified; this can take place within 7 days.
Biosecurity conditions to be applied
Apply to all gatherings
a. All litter and manure within the cages, crates or baskets must be contained until disposal. Any spillages outside the cage to be cleansed and disinfected immediately.
b. All litter and manure must be disposed of in a manner which does not present a risk of spread of the disease, e.g. in sealed bags for normal refuse collection so that other birds do not have direct access to it.
c. All exhibitors/entrants must be instructed to cleanse and disinfect the show cages, crates or baskets before the event, and be advised that they should be cleansed and disinfected on return to the home premises and before they are used to hold any other bird.
d. Written action plans (containing contingency measures, key contacts, etc.), held by the event organiser or nominated responsible person, must be available for use by the Scottish Government in the event of a disease incident at the event or nearby the event.
Additional condition for sales
e. Buyers must isolate the purchased bird(s) from any other birds (except those purchased at the same event) for at least 1 week. Any signs of ill health observed in the purchased bird(s) during this period must be reported to a veterinary surgeon and such birds must not be mixed with any other birds until the presence of an avian notifiable disease has been ruled out.
Additional conditions for pigeon races
f. Individual pigeons should be inspected for signs of disease before being mixed with pigeons from other lofts in crates or transport containers.
g. All crates, baskets and pigeon containers used for transport, and holding birds prior to liberation must be cleansed and disinfected prior to and after the race.
h. For a race within the British Isles, birds returning to their loft in Scotland more than 48 hours after the start of the race should be isolated for a minimum of 21 days. (The period could be extended beyond 48 hours in exceptional circumstances, such as where bad weather causes a delay to the return of a large number of birds). If in isolation, birds should be inspected regularly and any signs of ill health notified to a veterinary surgeon, or the local Animal Health Office, if a notifiable disease is suspected.
i. For a race starting outside the British Isles, all returning birds should be isolated from other birds, and not raced again, for a minimum of 1 week. This should increase to 3 weeks if pigeons return home later than 72 hours after release. If in isolation, birds should be inspected regularly and any signs of ill health notified to a veterinary surgeon, or the local Animal Health Office if a notifiable disease is suspected.
Birds taken abroad (including racing pigeons)
j. Participants and the event organiser or nominated responsible person must ensure poultry or other captive birds taken outside of the British Isles for showing or racing are put into isolation for a period of 7 days on their return to the British Isles.
k. Participants and the event organiser must ensure that birds in isolation on their return from being shown abroad do not come into contact with other birds, and that appropriate biosecurity measures (e.g. hand washing, laundering clothing) are followed prior to further handler contact with other birds.
Additional conditions for falconry events
l. To prevent contamination between birds from different sources, all boxes, cages and equipment that might become contaminated such as gloves, hoods and perches must only be used for birds from 1 premise. Birds should not be handled with handling equipment belonging to birds from other premises.
m. Hands and forearms must be thoroughly washed with soap and water after the falconry event and before handling other birds.
n. All participants in falconry activities shall, as far as is reasonably practicable, take any waste, including food, with them upon leaving the location of the falconry area. This must be disposed of in a manner which does not present a risk of spread of the disease, e.g. in sealed bags for normal refuse collection so that other birds do not have direct access to it.
o. Falconers should cleanse and disinfect boxes, cages and perches used for the birds before the event, on return to the home premises and before they are used to hold any other bird.
Contact your localAnimal Health Officefor further advice on biosecurity measures and any other legislation that may apply.