MT
Leucosis in Cattle (Amendment) Rules, 2009
Table of Provisions (11)
Statutory Text (11 Articles)
L.N. 208 of 2009
VETERINARY SERVICES ACT
(CAP. 437)
Measures for the Eradication of Brucellosis, Tuberculosis and
Leucosis in Cattle (Amendment) Rules, 2009
IN exercise of the powers conferred by article 5(1) of the
Veterinary Services Act, the Minister for Resources and Rural
Affairs, in concurrence with the Minister of Finance, the Economy
and Investment has made the following rules:-
(1) The title of these rules is the Measures for the Title and
Eradication of Brucellosis, Tuberculosis and Leucosis in Cattle commencement.
(Amendment) Rules, 2009 and they shall be read and construed as
one with the Measures for the Eradication of Brucellosis, L.N. 314 of
Tubercolosis and Leucosis in Cattle Rules, 2005, hereinafter referred 2005.
to as "the principal rules".
(2) These rules shall come into force on such date as the
Minister may by notice in the Gazette prescribe and different dates
may apply for different provisions of these rules
Rule 5 of the principal rules shall be amended as follows
Amends rule 5
of the principal
rules.
(a) in the Maltese text thereof, for the word "endemika"
wherever it occurs in this rule, there shall be substituted the
word "enżootika"; and
(b) immediately after sub-rule (1) thereof, there shall be
added the following new sub-rule
"(1A) (i) The plans for accelerating the
eradication of Enzootic Bovine Leucosis in Malta shall be
those laid down in the Schedule to these rules.
(ii) The Minister shall order the slaughter
of cattle infected with Enzootic Bovine Leucosis and
instruct farmers as to the procedure to be undertaken for
such slaughter.
(iii) The Minister shall compensate
farmers for infected cattle slaughtered in terms of the said
Schedule.".
Immediately after rule 10 of the principal rules, there shall Addition of new
Schedule to
be added the following new Schedule
principal rules.
"SCHEDULE
[Rule 5(1A)]
Enzootic Bovine Leucosis (EBL) Compensation Scheme
A.
Definitions & Abbreviations
Cohorts: Animals known to have coexisted with and have had direct or
indirect contact with infected animals, which may reasonably have led to the
spread of infection to the animals in question.
D Farms: Cow farms licensed as Dairy Producers, which deliver fresh milk to
approved plants producing milk for human consumption.
R Farms: Cow farms licensed as Non-Dairy Ruminant Producers, which rear
ruminants but do not deliver fresh milk to approved plants producing milk for
human consumption.
EBL: Enzootic Bovine Leucosis
EBL +ve: Found positive for Enzootic Bovine Leucosis based on serology of
individual serum samples.
EBL –ve: Found negative for Enzootic Bovine Leucosis based on serology of
individual serum samples.
Approved Farms: Those farms which, on inspection by VRFCC personnel,
were found to be of sufficient standard to remain operational without requiring any
modifications or improvements.
Conditionally Approved Farms: Those farms which, on inspection by
VRFCC personnel, were found to be of sufficient standard to remain operational
only if certain modifications or improvements are carried out. These modifications
or improvements shall be carried out within the period of time specified by the
VRFCC in order for the farm to become ‘Approved’. If these modifications or
improvements are not made by the specified deadline, the farm will lose its
‘Conditionally Approved’ status and be classified as ‘Unapproved’.
Initial Sampling: The first eligible collection of individual whole blood
samples which was carried out after the 1st of September 2007.
Subsequent Sampling: Collections of individual whole blood samples which
were carried out after ‘Initial Sampling’ but within the period of 1st September
2007 to 1st March 2009.
Initial Testing: The test carried out on samples collected during ‘Initial
Sampling’.
VRFCC: The Veterinary Regulation, Fisheries Conservation and Control
Division within the Ministry for Resources and Rural Affairs.
B.
Eligibility for Compensation under the EBL Scheme
1. Farmers Eligible for Compensation under the EBL Scheme
In order for a farmer to be eligible for compensation for slaughtered cattle
under this scheme, all the following conditions shall be satisfied
(a)
The farmer shall have been licensed by the department
responsible for Veterinary Services as a cattle farm; either as a dairy producer
(D) or a non-dairy ruminant farmer (R), at the time of slaughter;
(b) The farmer shall own a licensed cattle farm which was
‘approved’ or ‘conditionally approved’ by the department responsible for
Veterinary Services in its most recent inspections, at the time of slaughter;
(c)
The farmer shall allow free access to VRFCC personnel to his /
her farm holding for blood sampling and disease testing.
(d) The farmer shall follow, to the best of his abilities, all advice
given by the MRRA or VRFCC regarding management of EBL and EBL-
infected cattle.
(e)
The farmer shall have a good record of conduct with the VRFCC
as far back as September 2007; having never, in this period, attempted to
disrupt or impede the disease surveillance and control activities of the
VRFCC.
(f)
The farmer shall obey the following rules below regarding the
control of movement of animals
Rules regarding the Control of Movement of Animals
(a) Outward movements from D farms found free of EBL (EBL –ve)
will be allowed.
(b) Inward movement of animals to EBL –ve D farms will not be
allowed unless incoming animals are from EBL –ve farms.
(c)
No movement of male animals will be allowed from R farms to D
farms irrespective of disease status.
(d) No movements, inward or outward, will be allowed from any
cattle farm found to harbour EBL (EBL +ve) except in the case of movement
of male animals from EBL +ve D farms to R farms of either status, on the
condition that no female animals are present on the R farm.
2. Status required of Animals for Farmers to be Eligible for Compensation
In order for a farmer to be eligible for compensation under this scheme, all
the following conditions regarding the status of the animal for which compensation
is claimed shall be satisfied
(a) At the time of slaughter the animal shall have been a female or a
breeding male from a farm which was licensed as a D farm, or a female
animal from a farm which was licensed as an R farm.
(b) At the time of slaughter the animal shall have come from a farm
which was ‘approved’ or ‘conditionally approved’ for hygiene standards by
the VRFCC in its most recent inspections.
(c)
The animal shall be slaughtered at the national abattoir before the
end of December 2012.
(d) The animal shall be traceable back to birth on the national
livestock database.
(e)
The animal shall fit into one of the following categories
Category A Animals
Animals selected specifically for slaughter by the VRFCC based on
testing of samples taken between 1st September 2007 and 1st March 2009
and delivered to the abattoir for slaughter as and when instructed by the
VRFCC, between 1st October 2008 and 31st December 2012.
Category A1: Animals found EBL +ve based on testing of samples
taken between 1st September 2007 and 1st March 2009, which were older
than 1 year when sampled in this period.
Category A2: The proven offspring of the abovementioned animals
which were aged less than 1 year when sampled between September 2007
and 1st March 2009.
Category B Animals
Animals selected specifically for slaughter by the VRFCC based on
testing of samples taken between 1st September 2007 and 1st March 2009
and delivered to the abattoir for slaughter as and when instructed by the
VRFCC, between 1st October 2008 and 31st December 2012.
Category B1: Non-infected ‘cohort’ animals from farms found to have
farm infection rates above 80% based on testing of samples taken between
September 2007 and 1st March 2009.
Category B2: Dubitably infected ‘cohort’ animals less than 1 year of
age at the time of sampling which may have been born of infected cows or
may have suckled colostrum or milk from infected cows.
Category B3: Animals infected after ‘initial sampling’ which are found
EBL +ve in tests performed on samples taken subsequent to ‘initial
sampling’ but within the period of 1st September 2007 to 31st December
2010, limited to 10% of the total cow population on that farm at the time of
‘initial sampling’.
Category C Animals
Animals classified as eligible for compensation based on testing of
samples taken between 1st September 2007 and 1st March 2009 which are
delivered to the abattoir for slaughter for the farmer’s own reasons and on a
date of the farmer’s choosing, between 1st October 2008 and 31st December
2012. Category C1: Animals found EBL +ve based on testing of samples
taken between 1st September 2007 and 1st March 2009, which were older
than 1 year when sampled in this period.
Category C2: The proven offspring of the abovementioned animals
which were aged less than 1 year when sampled between 1st September 2007
and 1st March 2009.
Category C3: Animals infected after ‘initial sampling’ which are found
EBL +ve in tests performed on samples taken subsequent to ‘initial
sampling’ but within the period of 1st September 2007 to 31st December
2010, limited to 10% of the total cow population on that farm at the time of
‘initial sampling’.
Category D Animals
Animals from farms classified as EBL +ve based on testing of samples
taken between 1st September 2007 and 1st March 2009 which are delivered
to the abattoir for slaughter for the farmer’s own reasons and on a date of the
farmer’s choosing, between 1st October 2008 and 31st December 2012.
Category D1: Non-infected ‘cohort’ animals from farms found to have
farm infection rates above 80% based on testing of samples taken between
1st September 2007 and 1st March 2009.
Category E Animals
Animals classified as dubitably eligible for compensation. Eligibility
for compensation will be decided by the ad hoc EBL Compensation
Committee, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Committee’.
Category E1: Animals selected specifically for slaughter by the VRFCC
based on testing of samples collected between 1st June 2007 and 1st
September 2007.
Category E2: Animals selected specifically for slaughter by the VRFCC
based on testing of samples collected after 1st March 2009 in the case that
‘initial sampling’ was carried out after this date.
Category E3: Animals selected specifically for slaughter by the VRFCC
based on testing of samples taken between 1st September 2007 and 1st
March 2009 and delivered to the abattoir for slaughter as and when instructed
by the VRFCC, before 1st October 2008.
Category E4: Animals selected specifically for slaughter by the VRFCC
based on testing of samples taken between 1st September 2007 and 1st
March 2009 and delivered to the abattoir for slaughter as and when instructed
by the VRFCC, after 31st December 2012.
C.
Procedure for Controlling Slaughter and Compensation
1. Blood sampling and testing performed on individual animals over 2
years of age on farms of unknown disease status and all individual animals over 1
year of age on farms known to harbour EBL.
2. Meetings held with individual farmers and their Herd Book reviewed to
determine which animals under one year of age should be suspected as EBL-
infected and recommended for slaughter.
3. The farmer shall be informed of changes or improvements which must
take place on his / her farm before compensation will be paid.
At least one week prior to the date of slaughter, farmers will be given a
list of animals specified by ear tag number to bring to the abattoir, and a date on
which to bring them. Abattoir officials will also be provided with this same list at
least one week prior to the date of slaughter.
On arrival at the abattoir, abattoir officials shall ensure that all the listed
animals have been brought and that no more unlisted animals have been brought
than can be slaughtered that day.
Should a greater number of unlisted animals be brought by a farmer
than is possible to slaughter that day, listed animals will be given priority while
unlisted animals may be kept in lairage at the farmer’s expense until the next
slaughter day.
Farmers shall submit a request for compensation, giving details of
animal identity registration, age and date of slaughter. It will be ascertained from
abattoir records whether listed animals have been duly slaughtered as claimed.
The farmer shall be informed in writing regarding compensation to
which he is entitled. This will be in the form of an itemized list showing
compensation owed per animal slaughtered according to categorization under this
scheme.
The farm shall be inspected to ascertain that the changes or
improvements to the farm holding recommended following the previous VRFCC
inspection have been duly made, ensuring an acceptable level of bio-security.
Compensation payments are made.
D.
Calculation of Compensation
Age
Market
Category A
Category B Category C Category D Category E
Category
60% MP (X)
X – 20 %
X – 40 %
Zero
Case
Dependant
€ 755
€ 0
€ 1258 –
€ 2096.44
€ 1258
€ 1006
> 24 month
€
€
€
–
12 - 23
€ 931.75
€ 559
€ 447
month
€ 167
€ 0
€ 279 –
€ 465.87
€ 279
€ 223
4 - 12 month
€ 84
€ 0
€ 140 - 84
0 - 3 month
€ 232.94
€ 140
€ 112
Costs Related to Slaughter to be Deducted from Compensation
If animals are deemed eligible for compensation under the EBL
compensation scheme, then costs related to the slaughter and de-boning of
carcasses will be subtracted from the amount of compensation due to the owner of
the animals. Slaughter costs will be subtracted for each animal, based on their
carcass weight at slaughter. De-boning costs will be subtracted for each animal
over one year of age when slaughtered. Costs for disease-testing will be taken from
slaughter costs for each animal over thirty months of age when slaughtered. The
funds will be transferred to the accounts of the respective sections which covered
the costs initially.
Procedure
Animal Requiring
Cost
Recipient Account
Procedure
Slaughter
All; Compulsory
€ 0.20 / kg dead
National Abattoir
weight minus € 14
Disease Testing
Animals > 30 month;
€ 14 / head
National Veterinary Laboratory
Compulsory
Deboning
Animals > 12 month;
€ 40 / head
National Abattoir / Malta Beef
Compulsory
E. Penalties to be Deducted from Compensation for Disruption of
MRRA or VRFCC Activities
Although animals may fall into one of the categories eligible for
compensation, overall compensation will be reduced should the farmer be found
guilty of actions which may disrupt the activities of the VRFCC.
Cases shall be reviewed by the EBL Compensation Committee and judged
based on their own individual circumstances.
Penalties are deducted from the total amount of compensation to be granted
to the farmer. The table below explains the percentage of compensation to be
deducted from the total amount of compensation due to a farmer for each
individual infringement.
Such penalties are cumulative with additional or repetitive infringements by
different owners of the same farm holding.
Infringement
Code
Penalty
Cancellation of sampling appointments without
15 % reduction in total compensation.
valid reason(s) following written warning.
Unlicensed transfer of an animal.
25 % reduction in total compensation.
Tampering with ear tags.
25 % reduction in total compensation.
Purposeful infection of an animal.
100 % reduction in total compensation.
Template of Table of Calculation of Compensation Owed on a Per Animal
Basis
Animal Age Slaughter
Initial
Subtrac- Subtrac- Subtrac- Subtrac-
Final
Compen-
ID
Weight
Compen- ted for
ted for
ted for
ted for
Compen-
sation
(Kg)
sation Slaughter Disease Deboning Misdemea- sation
Category
Owed (€)
(€)
Testing
(€)
nors (%) Owed (€)
(€)
(A – E)
".