S.L. 439.10 Art. 7Carrying out of inspections.

(1) In accordance with the principles and rules of control laid down in European Union Council Directive 90/425/EEC, the Veterinary Services check that the requirements of these regulations have been complied with, by carrying out non-discriminatory inspections of -

(a) means of transport and animals during transport by road;

(b) means of transport and animals arriving at their place of destination;

(c) means of transport and animals at possible markets, at places of departure, at staging points and at transfer points;

(d) the particulars on the accompanying documents.

(2) Such inspections must be carried out on an adequate sample of the animals transported each year, and may be carried out at the same time as checks for other purposes. The Veterinary Services shall submit an annual report stating the number of inspections carried out in the preceding calendar year in respect of each of paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (d) of sub-regulation (1) and including details of any reported infringements and the action taken as a result by the Veterinary Services. This report shall be forwarded to the European Commission.

(3) Furthermore, where the Veterinary Services has information leading it to suspect an infringement, checks may also be carried out during the transport of animals on its territory.

(4) This regulation shall not affect checks carried out as part of tasks conducted in a non-discriminatory manner by authorities responsible for the general application of laws in a the territory of Malta.