S.L. 437.105 Art. 2Interpretation. S.L. 437.60 Cap. 437.

(1) Unless otherwise provided in these rules, the definitions prescribed in the Act and those contained in the Animal Health Conditions governing the Movement and Import from Third Countries of Equidae Rules shall apply, unless mutatis mutandis they are inconsistent with these rules.

(2) For the purpose of these rules and unless the context otherwise requires: "the Act" means the Veterinary Services Act;

"African horse sickness (AHS)" means a highly infectious and deadly disease, which commonly affects horses, mules, donkeys and zebras, and which is not directly contagious, but is known to be spread by insect species;

"census" means an official count of animal population carried out at set intervals commonly known as animal disease surveillance prevention and control system in animal population carried out by:

(a) collecting complete information including updated records of livestock production data, disease registries, specific reports and disease notification systems;

(b) obtaining a good knowledge of livestock production data, including livestock population, which is important for assessing the status of national, regional and continental food security; and

(c) providing guidelines on identification and traceability of live animals for the direct or indirect benefit of such data; such methodology facilitates the competent

*These rules have been repealed by Legal Notice 77 of 2025. authority to carry out its mandates and responsibilities with regard to animal health. The purpose of the census also aids the competent authority to plan properly on how to combat animal diseases affecting equidae in Malta in order to tackle the disease; "the Commission" means the European Commission; "the Community” means the European Community as established by the Treaty on the European Union as amended by subsequent treaties; "the competent authority" means the Department of Veterinary Services in Malta as established by article 2 of the Act; "confirmation" means the declaration, by the competent authority, of the presence of African horse sickness, based on laboratory results, which disease however, in the event of an epidemic, the competent authority may also confirm on the basis of clinical and, or epidemiological results; "crisis centre" means an animal disease crisis management centre or a facility which provides animal disease analysis and information, and which deploys or sets up international resources to prevent and contain dangerous animal diseases. Such centre aims at:

(a) strengthening of disease intelligence and emergency preparedness;

(b) supporting broad awareness creation and risk communication;

(c) analyzing the social and economic consequences of both the disease and its control;

(d) strengthening field surveillance, laboratory capabilities, global surveillance and early warning capabilities;

(e) advising the government and building capacities on disease surveillance prevention and control programmes; "the Director" means the Director General responsible for veterinary services or any veterinarian officer nominated by him; "epidemic inquiry" means an inquiry carried out in relation to an epidemic outbreak of disease in an animal population, often with the implication that it may extend to humans, and which primarily affects livestock and can cause disease in a large number of domestic animals and among humans who are exposed to diseased animals;

"equidae" means wild or domesticated animals of the equine or asinine species, (including zebras) or the offspring of crossings of such species; "holding" means an agricultural or training establishment, a stable, or any premises or facilities in which equidae are habitually kept or bred, for whatever use, and natural reserves in which equidae live in freedom;

"importation" means the transfer of animals and their products from a third country to a Member State;

"intra-Community trade" means trade between Member States in animals and their products, a business or occupation to make profit or gain, particularly in retail or wholesale sales and includes dealings in a particular business activity; "Member State" means a state which is a member of the European Union; "Member State of destination" means such Member State to which:

(a) for the purpose of intra-Community trade, equidae are transported either directly from another Member State, or from another Member State after being imported from a third country;

(b) for the purpose of importation, equidae are transported directly from a third country; "official veterinarian" means the veterinarian designated by the competent authority of Malta or any person summoned to act on his behalf, or the veterinarian nominated by the competent authority of another Member State or of a third country; "owner or keeper" means any natural or legal person having ownership of the equidae or charged with their keep, whether for financial remuneration or not; "person" means any natural or legal person; "Scientific Veterinary Committee" means a committee within the Commission which monitors matters of a scientific nature and whose aim and scope is inter alia to:

(a) protect and raise the health status and condition of animals in the Community, in particular food-producing animals, while promoting intra-Community trade and imports of animals and animal products in accordance with the appropriate health and zootechnical standards’ improvement and technology of animal husbandry and international obligations;

(b) analyse scientific and technical questions concerning all aspects of animal health, hygiene, and animal diseases;

"Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health" or "the Committee" means a Committee made up of the representatives of Member States named committee members, who assist and consult the Commission by delivering an Opinion regarding safety measures with respect to animal health issues to be then formally adopted by the Commission in accordance with the appropriate procedure. Such committee procedure covers the entire food supply chain, ranging from animal health issues on the farm to the product which arrives to the final consumer, therefore significantly enhancing its ability to target risks to health wherever they arise in the production of food;

"third country" means a state which is not a member of the European Union;

"the Treaty" means the Treaty on the European Union establishing the European Community as amended by the Lisbon Treaty of 2007, and as may be subsequently amended; "vector" means a disease-transmitting organism which for the purpose of African horse sickness is known to be an insect of the Culicoides imicola species or any other Culicoides insect liable to transmit African horse sickness, identifiable under the procedure provided in the definition "Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health" in rule 2(2), following the opinion of the Scientific Veterinary Committee.