Attention to pig farmers: the rules for determining the zoosanitary status of objects have changed

The changes also affected the rules for determining the zoosanitary status of objects with the use of which individuals and legal entities carry out the activities of growing, keeping and slaughtering pigs, producing, processing and storing pig products.

The new rules were approved by Order of the Ministry of Agriculture of RUSSIA dated May 11, 2023 No. 482. The rules approved by Order of the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia dated July 24, 2010 No. 258 have lost force.

According to the new rules, the territorial Office of ROSSELKHOZNADZOR determines the zoosanitary status of objects when classifying them as objects of medium and high levels of zoosanitary protection (compartment III, compartment IV), the executive body of the subject in the field of veterinary medicine - when classifying objects as unprotected objects and objects of a low level of zoosanitary protection (compartment I, compartment II).

The inspection of the object is carried out at the request of the owner of the object and includes an analysis of the submitted documents and an inspection of the object. The inspection of the object may be terminated upon the application of the owner of the object to terminate the inspection of the object, drawn up in any form.

The terms of the procedure for determining zoosanitary status have also been changed. According to the new rules, within 5 working days from the date of receipt of the application by the State Veterinary Service, the completeness of the submitted documents is checked. If an incomplete set of documents is provided, the owner is sent a corresponding notification, upon receipt of which the owner must submit the missing documents within 30 working days. If the missing documents are not provided, the State Veterinary Service body makes a decision to refuse to conduct an inspection of the facility.

The period for conducting an inspection of the object will not exceed 10 working days from the date the State Veterinary Service receives an application and a complete set of documents, while the period for conducting an inspection of the object will not exceed 2 working days from the date of commencement of such an inspection.

Based on the results of the examination, within 3 working days a conclusion is drawn up on classifying the object as a compartment or on refusing to classify the object as a compartment.

The validity of the conclusion is terminated from the date of determination by the State Veterinary Service of the object’s non-compliance with the compartmentalization criteria according to the declared level of compartment, which entailed changes at the object that negatively affect the biological safety of the object and the results of determining the zoosanitary status of the object specified in the conclusion, as part of the implementation of federal state veterinary control (supervision), carrying out measures to prevent and eliminate animal diseases and their treatment, or from the date of drawing up a conclusion on classifying the object to another compartment.

For compartments III and IV, the list of infectious diseases that should not be detected among the pig population during the specified time before the day of the inspection of the facility has also been changed. These are ASF , CSF, foot and mouth disease, brucellosis, trichinosis, leptospirosis.

Also, for compartments III and IV on the territory of the facility, it is not allowed to intersect the routes of movement of manure, animal corpses, slaughter waste and other biological waste with the routes of movement of animals, animal products, feed, or traffic flows on such routes are delimited in time in accordance with technological schemes (instructions) approved by the owner of the facility. In the case of delimitation of flows in time, roads after moving manure, animal corpses, slaughter waste and other biological waste are disinfected at air temperatures above 0 °C.

The criteria for compliance with compartment I have also been changed. Now, according to the new rules, compartment I includes facilities used for raising and keeping pigs, provided that the keeping of pigs at the facility is carried out in accordance with the requirements of the Veterinary Rules for keeping pigs for the purpose of their reproduction, cultivation and sale.

Under the old rules, farms that did not submit an application were automatically assigned to compartment I before a visit was carried out.

Thus, all facilities used for raising and keeping pigs, in order to obtain compartment levels I, II, III and IV, must comply with the requirements of the Veterinary Rules for keeping pigs. The corresponding rules were approved by Order of the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia dated October 21, 2020 No. 621.

The rules establish requirements for the conditions for keeping pigs for the purpose of their reproduction, cultivation, sale (hereinafter referred to as keeping pigs), requirements for the implementation of measures for quarantine of pigs, mandatory preventive measures and diagnostic studies of pigs kept by citizens, including in private farms, in peasant (farm) farms, individual entrepreneurs, organizations and institutions of the penal system, other organizations and institutions containing up to 1000 heads of pigs inclusive, as well as containing more than 1000 heads of pigs