Animal health: movements of ovine and caprine animals, reinforcement of controls (amend. Directive 91/68/EEC)

PURPOSE : to reinforce the controls on movements of sheep and goats. COMMUNITY MEASURE : Council Directive 2003/50/EC amending Directive 91/68/EEC as regards reinforcement of controls on movements of ovine and caprine animals. CONTENT: Sheep and goats share with bovine animals and swine not only similar husbandry systems, but also susceptibility to a common range of diseases. Movements of sheep largely contributed to the spread of foot-and-mouth disease in certain parts of the Community during the outbreak in 2001. When the foot-and-mouth disease crisis of 2001 came to an end, an International Conference on the Prevention and Control of foot-and-mouth Disease was organised jointly by the Belgian Presidency of the Council and the Commission in December 2001 in order to draw the first conclusions from the 2001 outbreak. Amongst other things, it was requested that the movement of susceptible animals be controlled more efficiently with regard to the health guarantees offered. This Directive aims to reinforce the controls on movement of sheep and goats in order to strengthen the health guarantees offered by Member States for intra-Community trade in animals of these species in line with Directive 64/432/EEC. It also provides for a swift procedure for updating the health certificates. DATE OF TRANSPOSITION : 01/07/04. ENTRY INTO FORCE : 09/07/03.�