Health certification
Australian Departmental officers will only endorse health certification for reproductive material destined to the EU if it is written in English and, where required, an official language of the EU Member State of the BIP where the animals will enter the EU.
Australian Departmental officers will not endorse health certification for reproductive material destined to the EU if only presented in a language other than English.
Health certificate
As the importing country requirements may change without advice to the Department you should check the importing country's documentation carefully at the time of preparation for export.
Ovine and caprine semen may only be exported to the EU if collected by a
semen collection centre audited and approved by the Department specifically for this purpose.
Member States of the EU and their ISO codes
|
Member State |
ISO Code |
Member State |
ISO Code |
| Austria | AT | Italy | IT |
| Belgium | BE | Latvia | LV |
| Bulgaria | BG | Lithuania | LT |
| Croatia | HR | Luxembourg | LU |
| Cyprus | CY | Malta | MT |
| Czech Republic | CZ | Netherlands | NL |
| Denmark | DK | Poland | PL |
| Estonia | EE | Portugal | PT |
| Finland | FI | Romania | RO |
| France | FR | Slovakia | SK |
| Germany | DE | Slovenia | SI |
| Greece | GR | Spain | ES |
| Hungary | HU | Sweden | SE |
| Ireland | IE | | |
To complete point I.7 of the EU health certificate you will need to name the exporting country and its ISO code.
Exporting country and their ISO code
| Exporting country | ISO code |
| Australia | AU
|
Facility and centre approvals
Goats and sheep semen may only be exported to the EU if collected by a semen collection centre audited and approved by the Department specifically for this purpose.
The list of approved ovine and caprine semen collection and storage centres is available on the
European Commission website.
- Note
- Any premises that wish to become EU listed must apply to the
Department to be listed.
Centre veterinarian declaration
A declaration by the centre veterinarian is required for this export.
This template (DOCX 84 KB |
PDF 218 KB) provides the format for the Centre Veterinarian Declaration (CVD) for the export of bovine semen (OV CAP-SEM-A-ENTRY) to the European Union.
This template (DOCX 84 KB |
PDF 218 KB) provides the format for the Centre Veterinarian Declaration (CVD) for the export of bovine semen (OV-CAP SEM-B-ENTRY) to the European Union.
Contact the
Department if bilingual certificates are required.
Semen Collection Centre
Centres currently approved by the Department that have provided permission for their details to be listed publicly are available on the
European Commission website.
Other information including the relevant EU Directives and general approval checklist can be found on the
European Commission website.
Testing regimes
|
Disease tested for |
Timing |
Method of testing |
EU requirements re method of testing |
|
Brucella abortus, B. melitensis and B. suis |
On-farm: within 30 days prior to quarantine; AND | cELISA, CFT, I-ELISA, Buffered Brucella antigen test, FPA | A serological test referred to in point 1 of Part 1 of Annex I to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/688
|
|
Quarantine:at least 21 days after admission; AND | cELISA, CFT, I-ELISA, Buffered Brucella antigen test, FPA | As above
|
| |
On-centre: at least once yearly | cELISA, CFT, I-ELISA, Buffered Brucella antigen test, FPA |
| Bluetongue | EITHER: | | |
| • Serological tests for antibody at least every 60 days throughout collection, and between 28 and 60 days after final collection for the consignment; OR | cELISA or VNT | Consistent with the WOAH Manual |
| • Agent identification test on the day of semen collection AND during the collection period, either virus isolation every 7 days or PCR every 28 days. | Virus isolation or PCR as per schedule | Consistent with the WOAH Manual |
| EHD (all serotypes present in Australia - 1, 2, 5, 6, 7 and 8) | A serological test at least every 60 days throughout the collection period and between 28 and 60 days from the date of the final collection of the semen | AGID or cELISA |
"Standards for EHD virus diagnostic tests are described in the EHD chapter of the Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines for Terrestrial Animals." |
| An agent identification test taken at the commencement and final collection of the semen and during the collection of the semen at intervals of at least every 7 days, in the case of virus isolation test, or of at least every 28 days, in the case of PCR | Virus Isolation or PCR as per schedule |
Prior to entering quarantine – donors are from an officially brucellosis-free (B. melitensis,
B.
abortus and
B. suis) ovine or caprine holding and have not been previously kept in a holding holding of a lower health status, and infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (M. bovis,
M. caprae and
M. tuberculosis has not been reported in the last 42 days
Prior to entering quarantine – the donor animals originated from properties that underwent surveillance infection with
Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (M. bovis,
M. caprae and
M. tuberculosis) has been carried out on the caprine animals kept on the establishments during at least the last 12 months.
Prior to entering quarantine – the donor animals originated from properties in which surra (Trypanosoma evansi) has not been reported during the last 2 years, and where infection with Burkeholderia mallei (glanders) was not reported during the period of 6 months.
Prior to entering quarantine – the donor animals remained on a property for a continuous period of at least 60 days and where ovine epididymitis (Brucella ovis) has not been reported during the period of 12 months.
Prior to entering quarantine – the donor animals were situated in an area where foot-and-mouth disease has not been reported within a 10-km radius centred on the establishment for a period of at least 30 days and in which foot-and-mouth disease has not been reported during a period of at least 3 months, and they were not vaccinated against food and mouth disease.
Quarantine - no outbreak of foot and mouth within a 10km radius of property for 30 days prior to movement to semen collection centre
Quarantine - free of foot and mouth disease for 3 months prior to movement to semen collection centre
Semen collection centre - free from foot and mouth disease for at least 3 months prior to collection of the semen and 30 days after collection (or in the case of fresh semen until the date of dispatch) and there has been no case of foot and mouth disease within a 10km radius of the property for 30 days prior to collection of the semen
Semen collection centre - free from brucellosis (B. abortus,
B. melitensis &
B. suis), ovine epididymitis (B. ovis),
Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (M. bovis,
M. caprae and
M. tuberculosis), rabies, anthrax, surra (Trypanosoma evansi), infection with epizootic haemorrhagic disease virus, infection with bluetongue virus (serotypes 1-24) for the period starting 30 days prior to collection and ending 30 days after the collection of the semen (or in the case of fresh semen, until the date of dispatch)
Donors must not show any clinical sign of disease on the day of admission to the semen collection centre
Donors must not show any clinical sign of disease on day of collection
Australia has been free from rinderpest, peste des petits ruminants, sheep and goat pox, contagious caprine pleuropneumonia and Rift Valley Fever during the 12 months immediately prior to collection of the semen to be exported and up until its date of dispatch and no vaccination against these diseases took place during that period
Australia has been free from foot and mouth disease during the 24 months immediately prior to collection of the semen to be exported and up until its date of dispatch and no vaccination against foot and mouth disease took place during that period.
In addition to EU health requirements, rams, bucks and teaser animals must comply with applicable testing and quarantine requirements outlined in Chapter 4.7 of the WOAH Code.
Annex 1 to standard EU-approval checklist -Role of the centre veterinarian - Semen
As stipulated in EU Commission Delegated Regulations, approved semen collection and storage centres must be under the permanent supervision of a centre veterinarian.
The scope of supervision of the centre veterinarian must be indicated in the centre's operations manual.
The centre veterinarian or another specified member of staff must be responsible for:
| Ensuring collection centres contain only animals of the species whose semen is to be collected |
| Ensuring that a record is kept of all animals and their movements at the centre (including details of the species/breed, date of birth and identification of each of the animals, and also a record of all checks/testing for diseases and all vaccinations carried out for each animal) |
| Ensuring the centre is inspected/audited twice yearly by the DAFF Biosecurity official vet |
| Ensuring the entry of unauthorised persons is prevented |
| Employing technically competent staff - this includes ensuring they are suitably trained in disinfection procedures and hygiene techniques relevant to the control of the spread of disease |
| Ensuring that only semen collected at an approved centre is processed and stored in approved centres. |
| Ensuring that collection, processing and storage of semen takes place only on the premises set aside for the purpose and under the strictest conditions of hygiene |
| Ensuring that all instruments which come into contact with the semen or the donor animal during collection and processing are properly disinfected or sterilised prior to use, except for single-use instruments |
| Ensuring that products of animal origin used in the processing/storage of semen - including additives or a diluent - are obtained from sources which present no animal health risk or are so treated prior to use that such risk is prevented |
| Ensuring that storage containers and transport containers are either properly disinfected or sterilised before the commencement of each filling operation, except for single-use containers |
| Ensuring that the cryogenic agent used has not been previously used for other products of animal origin |
| Ensuring that each individual dose of semen is clearly marked in such a way that the date of collection of the semen, the breed and identification of the donor animal and the approval number of the centre can be readily established |
| Ensuring that the storage unit complies with the specific conditions relating to the supervision of semen storage centres. (This includes records of all movement of semen, status of donor animals, and all of points 1 to12 above.) |
| The centre vet must ensure movements of donors from quarantine accommodation to semen collection centre are only done with their express permission (cannot be delegated).*Bull note below. |
Where the centre veterinarian is not permanently present on-site, the procedure for ensuring compliance with each of the above points must be detailed in the operations manual. If any of these tasks are not considered to be the centre veterinarian’s responsibility, the person responsible must be indicated in the operations manual, and the procedure for ensuring compliance must be detailed in the operations manual.
Annex 2 to standard EU-approval checklist - Biosecurity Requirements for EU Approved Semen Collection Centres
European legislation/standards for semen collection centres were developed on the basis that animals are housed indoors. In 2007, on the basis of risk assessment, additional biosecurity requirements above that required by the European Commission (EC) legislation were agreed upon by the EU Food and Veterinary Office to allow semen collection centres in Australia to use outdoor housing.
These measures address the EC requirements for secure accommodation of animals within EU-eligible centres with particular regard to the separation and cleanliness requirements of EC directives.
These are the minimum biosecurity requirements that semen collection centres that wish to export to the EU must have. These requirements are to be read as an Annex which is additional to the standard EU centre approval/audit checklist/s.
Centres must have:
| Procedures to address vector transmission of any diseases of concern. These must include the following: |
| The outside boundary fence will prevent the entry of feral or native terrestrial animals. |
| Vermin control procedures within the centres. |
| Appropriate insect vector devices including fly traps on the boundary fences and procedures for monitoring and changing these traps. |
| Animals within the centre will be treated with an appropriate insecticide with repellent properties as per manufacturer's recommendations.
|
| Double external fencing 9 metres apart. Constructed so as both fences are stock proof (with the outside fence also being wildlife proof) so as to prevent contact with outside livestock and wildlife.
|
| Procedures for cleaning animal accommodation areas, yards, buildings (where present), water and feed troughs within the centre, to maintain high levels of environmental cleanliness.
|
| Animal accommodation must be physically separated by walls or fences and self closing doors or gates from the semen collection area, semen processing room. The semen storage room is physically separated by walls and self closing doors from the other areas of the centre. Appropriate movement controls of staff between all areas. |
| Authorised access policy a set of written visible conditions for authorised visitors as outlined by the centre veterinarian. These must include: |
| No unauthorised access. |
| No unaccompanied access. |
| Disinfection of vehicles entering the centre e.g. wheel baths. |
| Visitors must follow the same biosecurity procedures as staff. |
| Centre and area specific clothing and footwear for all staff and visitor to the centre |
| Requirements for staff and visitors: |
| Facilities to change into clean centre and area specific clothing and footwear. |
| Separate clothing and footwear requirements for animal handling staff and laboratory staff. |
| Procedures and infrastructure for controlling the movement of staff between semen processing and collection areas. |
| Separate social rooms for animal handlers and laboratory staff, or where there are shared facilities, written procedures for staff to address biosecurity hazards of staff mixing e.g. changes of clothing and footwear. |
Operations Manual
All centres/ teams intending to become approved for export to the EU must submit an Operations Manual for assessment as part of the approval process.
Contact the
Department for further details.
