S.I. No. 127/2000 - European Communities (Protection of Animals Kept For Farming Purposes) Regulations, 2000.

1. Animals shall be cared for by a sufficient number of staff who possess the appropriate ability, knowledge and professional competence.

Inspection.

2. All animals kept in husbandry systems in which their welfare depends on frequent human attention shall be inspected at least once a day. Animals in other in other systems shall be inspected at intervals sufficient to avoid any suffering.

3. Adequate lighting (fixed or portable) shall be available to enable the animals to be thoroughly inspected at any time.

4. Any animal which appears to be ill or injured must be cared for appropriately without delay and, where an animal does not respond to such care, veterinary advice must be obtained as soon as possible. Where necessary, sick or injured animals shall be isolated in suitable accommodation with, where appropriate, dry comfortable bedding.

Record keeping.

5. The owner or keeper of the animals shall maintain a record of any medicinal treatment given and of the number of mortalities found at each inspection. Where equivalent information is being kept for other purposes this shall also suffice for the purposes of these Regulations.

6. These records shall be retained for a period of at least 3 years and shall be made available to an authorised officer when carrying out an inspection or when otherwise requested by an authorised officer.

Freedom of movement.

7. The freedom of movement of an animal, having regard to its species and in accordance with established experience and scientific knowledge, must not be restricted in such a way as to cause it unnecessary suffering or injury. Where an animal is continuously or regularly tethered or confined, it must be given the space appropriate to its physiological and ethological needs in accordance with established experience and scientific knowledge.

Buildings and accommodation.

8. Materials to be used for the construction of accommodation, and in particular for the construction of pens and equipment with which the animals may come into contact, must not be harmful to the animals and must be capable of being thoroughly cleaned and disinfected.

9. Accommodation and fittings for securing animals shall be constructed and maintained so that there are no sharp edges or protrusions likely to cause injury to the animals.

10. Air circulation, dust levels, temperature, relative air humidity and gas concentrations must be kept within limits which are not harmful to the animals.

11. Animals kept in buildings must not be kept either in permanent darkness or without an appropriate period of rest from artificial lighting. Where the natural light available is insufficient to meet the physiological and ethological needs of the animals appropriate artificial lighting must be provided.

Animals not kept in buildings.

12. Animals not kept in buildings shall where necessary and possible be given protection from adverse weather conditions, predators and risks to their health.

Automatic or mechanical equipment.

13. All automated or mechancial equipment essential for the health and well-being of the animals must be inspected at least once daily. Where defects are discovered these must be rectified immediately or, if this is impossible, appropriate steps must be taken to safeguard the health and well-being of the animals. Where the health and well-being of the animals are dependent on an artificial ventilation system provision must be made for an appropriate backup system to guarantee sufficient air renewal to preserve the health and well-being of the animals in the event of failure of the system and an alarm system must be provided to give warning of breakdown. The alarm system must be tested regularly.

Feed, water and other substances.

14. Animals must be fed a wholesome diet which is appropriate to their age and species and which is fed to them in sufficient quantity to maintain them in good health and satisfy their nutritional needs. No animal shall be provided with food or liquid in a manner, nor shall such food or liquid contain any substance, which may cause unnecessary suffering or injury.

15. All animals must have access to feed at intervals appropriate to their physiological needs.

16. All animals must have access to a suitable water supply or be able to satisfy their fluid intake needs by other means.

17. Feeding and watering equipment must be designed, constructed and placed so that contamination of food and water and the harmful effects of competition between the animals are minimised.

18. No animal remedy may be administered to an animal other than an animal remedy authorised under and administered in accordance with the Animal Remedies Regulations, 1996 (

S.I. No. 179 of 1996

) and the Control of Animal Remedies and their Residues Regulations, 1998 (

S.I. No. 507 of 1998

) and no other substance may be given to an animal unless it has been demonstrated by scientific studies of animal welfare or established experience that the effect of that substance is not detrimental to the health or welfare of the animal.

Breeding procedures.

19. Natural or artificial breeding or breeding procedures that cause or are likely to cause suffering or injury to any of the animals concerned must not be practised. This provision shall not preclude the use of certain procedures likely to cause minimal or momentary suffering or injury or which might necessitate interventions which would not cause lasting injury.

20. No animal shall be kept for farming purposes unless it can reasonably be expected, on the basis of its genotype or phenotype, that it can be kept without detrimental effect on its health or welfare.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 11th day of May, 2000.

JOE WALSH,

Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

These Regulations give effect to Council Directive 98/58/EC concerning the protection of animals kept for farming purposes and require owners and keepers to ensure the welfare of their animals.

1

O.J. No. L 221 of 8.8.98, p23.

I, JOE WALSH, Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by

section 3

of the

European Communities Act, 1972

(No. 27 of 1972) and for the purpose of giving effect to Council Directive 98/58/EC

(1)

of 20 July, 1998, hereby make the following regulations

Citation.