Government Decision No. HG913/2018 validating the Sanitary-Veterinary Norm regarding the conditions of animal health and certification for trade (import and export) in cattle and pigs.

This Government Decision approves the veterinary-sanitary norm establishing animal health conditions and veterinary certification requirements for trade (import and export) in bovine and swine between the Republic of Moldova and European Union Member States. The text lays down general conditions for animals to be eligible for import and export, including pre-departure clinical examination by an official veterinarian, origin from holdings free from restrictions, proper identification, and absence of health-program restrictions. It prescribes the form, language, validity, and issuance procedures for veterinary health certificates, including use of electronic control networks (ANIMO, TRACES) and rules for certificates issued via collection centres. Specific health requirements are detailed for breeding and production animals and for animals for slaughter, including mandatory residence periods on holdings, limits on time spent in collection centres, and isolation obligations when new animals are introduced. For bovines, the norm specifies disease-free status and testing regimes for tuberculosis, brucellosis, and enzootic bovine leukosis, with extensive technical annexes describing diagnostic standards, tuberculin testing, and serological methods. Implementation provisions assign responsibilities to the National Food Safety Agency and the national reference laboratory (Centrul Republican de Diagnostic Veterinar) for coordinating diagnostic standards and programs. The norm regulates authorization, infrastructure, operation, and record-keeping duties of collection centres and operators, as well as obligations of animal transporters regarding vehicle construction, cleaning and disinfection, documentation, and separation of lots. It establishes a national system of control networks linking holdings, veterinarians, laboratories, and a central electronic database, and defines the duties of herd owners and empowered veterinarians. The text also sets out notification obligations for listed bovine and porcine diseases, conditions for national eradication and control programs, criteria for disease-free status of herds and territories, and measures to be taken by competent authorities in cases of non-compliance, including suspension of authorizations, movement restrictions, return or slaughter of animals, and cooperation with foreign competent authorities.