What we do

Animals and Animal Products Covered

Animal Health is responsible for issuing Export Health Certificates (EHCs) and Intra Trade Animal Health Certificates (ITAHCs) for:

• Agricultural Livestock
  - cattle, sheep, pigs and goats
• Germplasm
  - semen, ova and embryos
• Horses and Ponies
• Cats and Dogs
• Other Live Animals
  - birds, zoo and circus animals, camelids and other farmed livestock
• Poultry and Hatching Eggs
• Animal Products
  - meat and meat products, dairy products, hides and skins, petfood, pharmaceutical products and other miscellaneous animal products
  

Animal Health issues certification on behalf of Defra, the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government. Export certificates are issued by Animal Health’s Specialist Service Centre for Exports located in Carlisle.

Exporters intending to dispatch consignments from Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man or Channel Islands must contact the relevant Competent Authority for their area:

Northern Ireland: Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARDNI)

Isle of Man: Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF)

Channel Islands: States of Jersey Planning and Environment or States of Guernsey

National Trade

Export Health Certification may also be required for trade to other United Kingdom dependencies - Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Such exports are commonly known as National Trade. Animal Health is responsible for the issue of Export Health Certificates for National Trade from Great Britain to UK dependencies.

Animals and Products Not Covered

Animal Health does not issue export certificates for bees or live fish.

For Bee exports from England and Wales contact:

The Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA)
Bee Health
Room 10GA07
Sand Hutton
York
YO41 1LZ
Tel: 01904 465636
Fax: 01904 465628
Email: beehealthinfo@fera.gsi.gov.uk

For Bee exports from Scotland contact:

Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA)
Roddinglaw Road
Edinburgh
EH12 9FJ
Tel: 0131 244 8890
Fax: 0131 244 8940
Email: info@sasa.gsi.gov.uk

For live fish exports from England and Wales contact:

Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS)
Fish Health Inspectorate
Barrack Road
The Nothe
Weymouth
Dorset
DT4 8UB
Tel: 08459 335577 (Defra Helpline)
Fax: 01305 206601
Email: fhi@cefas.co.uk

For live fish exports from Scotland contact:

Fisheries Research Services
Marine Scotland
Marine Laboratory
PO Box 101
375 Victoria Road
Aberdeen
AB11 9DB
Tel: 01224 876544
Fax: 01224 295511
Email: enquiries@marlab.ac.uk

Animal Health does not issue export certificates for plants, plant products (including grain and bulbs), fruit and vegetables, potatoes (including seed potatoes), seeds, soil or agricultural machinery.

For advice on these exports and phytosanitary certification please contact:

The Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA)
Sand Hutton
York
YO41 1LZ
Tel: 01904 462000
Fax: 01904 462111
Email: info@fera.gsi.gov.uk

Process for Issuing Export Certification

Upon receipt of your export application form Animal Health will:

• Process your application and send the appropriate export health certification requested to you nominated Official Veterinarian (OVs) for certification procedures to be carried out
• Provide advice and support to exporters and OVs throughout the certification process

Official Veterinarians

The majority of countries require that export certification should be certified by an Official Veterinarian (OV). An OV is a registered veterinary surgeon (member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS)) who has been specifically authorised to sign EHCs on behalf of Defra, the Scottish Government or Welsh Government.

Animal Health:

• supply training and appoint OVs to dospecific export work
• monitor standards of OV certification
• ensure that lists of OVs are kept up to date and readily available

Poultry Health Scheme

The Poultry Health Scheme (PHS) offers a system of registration and approval enabling establishments to comply with EU legislation ensuring they are eligible to export to other EU Member States.

Poultry keepers need to be members of the scheme if they wish to either:

• export more than 20 birds or hatching eggs to another EU Member State
• sell birds or eggs to other Poultry Health Scheme members
• export to certain Third Countries that require compliance with EU legislation

The PHS is operated by Animal Health, organised on a local basis from your Animal Health Regional or Divisional office. Details of your local office can be found in our contacts pages.

Although the scheme is based on EU legislation and primarily enables trade to other EU Member States, some third countries have specified compliance with the EU legislation or membership of the Scheme as a condition to export poultry to those countries. Where this is the case, it will be included in the wording of the Export Health Certificate (EHC) for the destination country in question.

Further details on the Poultry Health Scheme can be found on the Defra website.

Welfare of animals during transport

Any person transporting animals on journeys over 65 kilometres as part of an economic activity must hold a valid transporter authorisation to do so.

There are two types of authorisation:

• Type 1 Short journey - for journeys over 65km and up to eight hours duration
• Type 2 Long journey - which covers all journeys, including those over eight hours duration.

The Welfare in Transport team, location at the Specialist Service Centre for Exports in Carlisle is responsible for processing applications for transporter authorisations in Great Britain. All applications and related queries should be directed to this team at:

Welfare in Transport Team
Animal Health
Hadrian House
Wavell Drive
Rosehill Industrial Estate
Carlisle
Cumbria
CA1 2TB
Tel: 01228 403600 (Option 8)
Tel: 0845 603 8395 (Helpline)
Fax: 01228 591900
Email: wit@animalhealth.gsi.gov.uk

More details on welfare of animals during transport can be found in our Keeping Animals pages.