Animal Diseases Regulations (Import of Animals), 1974

ANIMAL DISEASES REGULATIONS (IMPORTS OF ANIMALS) 5734-1974 Under the authority of Section 20 of the Animal Diseases Ordinance, 1945, I hereby enact these Regulations: Chapter One: General 1. Definitions: In these Regulations "The Director" - the Director of the Veterinary Services in the Ministry of Agriculture or a person authorised by him or her for the purposes of some or all of these Regulations; "Port of Import" - the seaports of Haifa, Ashdod and Eilat, Ben-Gurion Airport; and any other port or point of entry approved by the Director for the purposes of these Regulations. Import of Animals: 2. (a) No person shall import animals unless he or she has a written permit from the Director (hereinafter the permit) and in accordance with its terms. (b) The applicant for the permit must submit his or her application in writing to the Director not less than ten days before the departure of the animals from their country of origin for Israel. (c) The Director may grant, or refuse to grant, the permit, revoke or suspend it, include in it conditions and add to, or alter, the same. 3. For the grant of a permit under Regulation 2 the applicant shall pay a fee of .1 4. Prior Notification: The owner should notify the State Veterinary Officer (hence- the Veterinarian) about the import, at least 48 hours prior to the arrival of the animals at the Port of Import. 1 See current fees in Regulations on Agricultural Fees (which are updated periodically). Chapter Two: Imports of Animals 5. Handling of Imported Animals: Animals shall not be unloaded from the transporter by which they arrived in Israel except in the Port of Import and in accordance with the instructions of the Veterinarian. 6. Duty to Transfer Animals to Quarantine: The Veterinarian shall order the unloading of the imported animals from the transporter and their transfer to quarantine if the following conditions are satisfied: (1) The conditions of the permit; (2) The person in charge of the transporter by which the animals arrived in Israel delivered to the Veterinarian a declaration signed by him or her confirming that (a) The imported animals were not unloaded from the transporter on their way to Israel. (b) No signs of disease were discovered, and no deaths occurred, among the animals on their way to Israel, and if these occurred - he or she shall specify the treatment he or she gave the animals, including disposal of carcasses; (3) The Veterinarian has examined the imported animals and found that they are not infected, or suspected of being infected, with a disease, which in his or her opinion endangers the health of the livestock in Israel. 7. Authority to Transfer Animals to Quarantine even if Conditions not Satisfied: (a) The Director may order the unloading of the imported animals from the transporter, and also their transfer to quarantine, even if not all the conditions stated in Regulation 6 were fulfilled. (b) If the Director acts as provided in Subregulation (a), his or her order shall not be deemed to be confirmation that the animals have been brought to Israel in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations. 8. Return of Animals Abroad: If the Veterinarian or the Director have not instructed that the animals be unloaded and transferred to quarantine, as provided in Regulations 6 and 7, the Director shall instruct that they be returned abroad, but he or she need not order so if the animals are slaughtered or destroyed in accordance with his or her instructions. 9. Place of Quarantine: (a) Animals transferred to quarantine shall be held for the duration of the quarantine in a government quarantine station (hereinafter - quarantine station). (b) The Director may permit the holdings of animals in quarantine in a place approved as a place of quarantine for a certain consignment (hereinafter - a place of quarantine). (c) No person shall introduce into a quarantine station or a place of quarantine animals, implements, equipment or materials, nor shall he or she remove the same therefrom, without a permit from the Veterinarian. (d) A person present in a quarantine station or in a place of quarantine must obey the instructions of the Veterinarian. 10. Transfer of Animals to Quarantine and from One to Another: The transfer of animals to a quarantine station or to a place of quarantine, or from them to another quarantine station or a place of quarantine, shall be carried out by the owner at his or her own cost, along roads, in suitable vehicles, and taking such precautionary measures as the Veterinarian shall order. 11. Period of Quarantine: The period of quarantine for the purposes of these Regulations is eight days, but the Director has discretion to increase or shorten the period of quarantine. 12. Supervision after Quarantine: At the termination of the period of quarantine the animals shall be under supervision at a place, for a period and under such conditions as the Director shall prescribe. 13. Test, Examinations, Inoculations: During the period of quarantine and the period of supervision the Veterinarian shall carry out tests, examinations and vaccinations of the animals as the Director instructs. 14. Quarantine Fee: (a) For a stay of the animals in a quarantine station of up to eight days, their owner will pay the quarantine fee as in column A in the Schedule2. 2 The Schedule has been omitted from this translation. (b) For each day's stay of the animals in quarantine beyond eight days their owner will pay the fee as set out in column B in the Schedule, but if animals are detained in quarantine on the written instructions of the Director, the fee will not be paid under this Subregulation. (c) For a stay of animals in a place of quarantine their owner shall pay a quarantine fee as specified in Column C in the Schedule. (d) If the owner requests tests, examinations and vaccinations additional to those provided for in Regulation 13, the Director may permit that they be carried out at the expense of the owner. 15. Exemption from fees: A diplomatic or consular representative of a foreign state, within the meaning of Paragraph 3 in the Schedule to Customs, Excise and Purchase Tax Law (Cancellation of Special Exemption) 5717 1957, recognised by the Minster of Foreign Affairs, shall be exempt from payment of fees under these Regulations. 16. Marking: The Veterinarian may order the marking of animals in quarantine in such way, as he or she shall prescribe. 17. Feeding Animals: The owner of animals in quarantine is responsible for their being fed and watered and for routine treatment in such manner and on such conditions as the Veterinarian shall determine. 18. Special Treatments: The owner of animals in quarantine or under supervision shall be liable for special treatments, including dipping, spraying and disinfection, if the Veterinarian instructs that these be carried out. 19. Destruction of Animals in Quarantine and in Period of Quarantine: The Director may order the destruction or slaughter of animals during the period of quarantine and the period of supervision, if it transpires that they are infected, or suspected of being infected, with a disease, which in his or her opinion, endangers the health of livestock in Israel. 20. Release from Quarantine: At the end of the quarantine period the animals shall be released from quarantine, but the Veterinarian may delay their release as long as their owner has not paid the fees and other payments due from him or her under the Regulations. 21. Imported Fodder and Litter: Fodder and litter brought with the animals shall not be unloaded from the transporter, but the Veterinarian may permit their unloading and transfer to a quarantine station for use for those animals, or their unloading on condition that they be destroyed as he or she has directed if, in his or her opinion, the fodder or litter may endanger the health of livestock in Israel. 22. Imported Implements: Implements, instruments and any equipment brought together with the animals shall not be unloaded from the transporter by which they arrived, except with a written permit from the Veterinarian and in accordance with his or her conditions. 23. Import of Animals for Slaughter: (a) If the Director has provided in the conditions of the permit that the animals shall be imported for slaughter only, the provisions of these Regulations shall apply to them with the modifications set out in the Subregulations (b) and (c). (b) The animals shall be slaughtered by the owner at the place prescribed by the Director. (c) The transportation of the animals from the quarantine to the place of slaughter mentioned in Subregulation (b) shall be done in suitable vehicles, taking precautionary measures as ordered by the Director. 24. Special Provisions regarding Chicks, Fledgelings, and Hatching Eggs: (a) The provisions of this Regulation shall apply to the import of chicks, fledgelings and hatching eggs of poultry and birds, and to chicks and fledgelings, which have hatched from imported hatching eggs, with the modifications as set out in this Regulation. (b) The chicks, fledgelings and hatching eggs shall be held only in a place of quarantine. (c) The period of quarantine shall be six months, but in the case of chicks or fledgelings that have hatched from imported eggs, the period of quarantine shall include, in addition to the six months from the time of the hatching of the chicks or fledgings, also the period prior to such hatching; the Director may extend or shorten the period of quarantine in certain cases, as required. (d) During the period of quarantine the Veterinarian shall test and examine the chicks or fledgeings, as the Director shall instruct. (e) For the stay of the chicks, fledgings or hatching eggs in the place of quarantine, the owner shall pay the fee set out in column C of the Schedule. 25. Dogs, Cats and Birds Imported as Personal Luggage: The Director may exempt from some or all of these Regulations dogs, cats and birds arriving as personal luggage to Israel with their owners, subject to these conditions: (1) Their number does not exceed two; (2) They originate from countries from which there is no fear of introduction of animal diseases into Israel; (3) The Director is satisfied that they were in the possession of their owner for not less than 90 days before their arrival in Israel; (4) They are accompanied by a certificate of health of a State Veterinarian abroad confirming that they are free from infectious diseases; (5) Their owner has produced a certificate from a veterinarian from their country of origin that the dogs or cats were vaccinated against rabies not more than one year and not less than one month before their arrival in Israel; if the owner does not produce a certificate he or she shall vaccinate them against rabies within five days of their arrival in Israel. Chapter Three: Various Provisions 26. Commencement: The commencement of these Regulations is thirty days after their publication. 27. Repeal: Animal Diseases Regulations (Import of Animals) 5719-1959 are repealed. 28. Title: These Regulations shall be called "Animal Diseases Regulations (Import of Animals) 5734-1974."