S.L. 437.81 Art. 4Suspected infected holdings.

(1) The Veterinary Services shall take all the necessary provisions to ensure that, where a holding contains one or more animals suspected of being infected or of being contaminated with foot-and-mouth disease, official means of investigation to confirm or rule out the presence of the disease are set in motion immediately and, in particular, that the official veterinarian takes the necessary samples, or has them taken, for laboratory examination. As soon as the suspected infection is notified, the competent authority shall have the holding placed under official surveillance and shall in particular order that:

(a) a census be made of all categories of animals of susceptible species and that, in respect of each of these categories, the number of animals already dead, infected or liable to be infected or contaminated be recorded; the census must be kept up to date to take account of animals born or dying during the period of suspicion; the information in the census must be produced on request and may be checked at each visit;

(b) all animals of susceptible species on the holding be kept in their living quarters or some other place where they can be isolated;

(c) no animals of susceptible species enter or leave the holding;

(d) no animals of other species enter or leave the holding without the authorisation of the competent authority;

(e) all movement from the holding of meat or carcasses of animals of susceptible species or of animal feed, utensils, objects or other substance, such as wool or waste or rejected matter, liable to transmit foot-and-mouth disease be prohibited, unless authorised by the competent authority;

(f) the movement of milk from the holding be prohibited; in the event of difficulties in storing the milk on the holding, the competent authority may authorise the milk to be moved from the holding under veterinary supervision to a treatment establishment in order that it may be given heat treatment ensuring the destruction of the foot-and-mouth virus;

(g) the movement of persons to or from the holding be made subject to authorisation by the competent authority;

(h) the entry or exit of vehicles to or from the holding be made subject to authorisation by the competent authority which shall lay down the conditions necessary in order to avoid propagation of the foot-and-mouth virus;

(i) appropriate means of disinfection be used at the entrances and exits of buildings housing animals of susceptible species and of the holding itself;

(j) an epizootiological inquiry be carried out in accordance with rules 7 and 8.

(2) The competent authority may extend the measures provided for in sub-rule (1) to adjoining holdings should their location, their configuration, or contacts with animals from the holding where the disease is suspected, give reason to suspect possible contamination.

(3) The measures referred to in sub-rules (1) and (2) shall not be withdrawn until the suspicion of foot-and-mouth disease has been officially ruled out.