S.L. 437.81 Art. 6Holdings consisting of two or more units.

(1)(a) In the case of holdings which consist of two or more separate production units, the competent authority may derogate from the requirements of rule 5(2)(a) and (b) as regards healthy production units of a holding which is infected, provided that the official veterinarian has confirmed that the structure and size of these units and the operations carried out there are such that they are completely separate as regards housing, keeping and feeding, so that the virus cannot spread from one to another.

(b) The same measures and the possibility of derogating from the requirements of rule 5(2)(f) may be extended to holdings producing milk, provided that, in addition, milking in each unit is carried out quite separately.

(2) (a) Where recourse is had to the provisions of subrule (1), the competent authority shall ensure that the rules they apply include, at least, the following:

(i) the derogation available in sub-rule (1) shall only be granted following an individual assessment of the holding in question carried out by an official veterinarian at the time of the official investigation to confirm or rule out the presence of foot-and-mouth disease,

(ii) this assessment shall take into account all conditions and situations pertaining to the possible spread of foot-and-mouth disease.

(b) (i) In granting the derogation referred to in paragraph (a), the competent authority shall take all the necessary provisions to ensure that there is no more risk of foot-and-mouth disease virus spreading between separate production units on a holding than of it spreading between separate holdings.

(ii) Intensively managed production units containing healthy animals shall conform to the following requirements:

(a) they shall be constructionally separate from those which contained infected animals with no communication or common air space between them,

(b) they shall have separate stores for equipment, fodder, effluent and, where appropriate, milk,

(c) they shall have individual disinfection facilities at entrances and exits,

(d) they shall have their own personnel,

(e) further, there shall have been no exchange of farm machinery or other equipment between infected and healthy units nor shall there have been an exchange of animals, animal products, animal feed, utensils, objects or other substances such as wool or waste or rejected matter liable to transmit foot-and-mouth disease from infected to healthy units.

(c) The conditions laid down in paragraph (b) shall have been in place, to the satisfaction of the official veterinarian, prior to the date on which one or more infected animals as defined in rule 2 were present on the holding, taking into account the likely incubation period of the disease.