Guidance

24 March 2025: Regionalisation of Germany for imports of commodities from FMD-susceptible animals

Updated 31 March 2025

OVS note number:  2025/23

Date:  24 March 2025

1. Purpose

To inform you that the United Kingdom has now agreed to recognise regionalisation of Germany, following an outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) reported on 10 January 2025.

2. Background

Germany notified WOAH of an outbreak of FMD on 10 January 2025: WAHIS.

The UK Office for SPS Trade Assurance amended its country listings on 13 January 2025 to suspend imports of several commodities from FMD-susceptible animals from the whole territory of Germany (see OVS note 2025/02 for a full list of actions taken).

The UK Office for SPS Trade Assurance further amended the fresh meat of ungulates list on 29 January 2025 to insert closing dates in Germany’s entry (see OVS note 2025/08). Also see OVS notes 2025/03, 2025/04, 2025/09) for further guidance on the FMD outbreak in Germany.

‘FMD-susceptible animals’ means a cow, bull, sheep, goat, deer, camel, llama, alpaca, guanaco, vicuna, any other ruminant, any swine (that is, a member of the suborder Suina of the order Artiodactyla) or elephant.

Having assessed the measures applied in response to the outbreak of FMD in Germany, and following assurances provided by the German authorities, the UK has now agreed to recognise regionalisation of Germany for FMD for exports to Great Britain.

As a result, import restrictions from outside the containment zone (CZ) (as defined in Annex II of Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/323) have been lifted for the following affected commodities, provided all other import conditions in the relevant health certificates are met:

• live ungulates
• ruminant germplasm
• fresh meat of ungulates
• meat products of FMD-susceptible animals that have not been subject to at least heat treatment D1, D, C or B
• raw and pasteurised milk and raw and pasteurised milk products of FMD-susceptible animals (including colostrum)
• certain animal by-products (see Annex 1)
• hay and straw

The UK Office for SPS Trade assurance has on 24 March 2025 amended its listings to recognise regionalisation for Germany, so that restrictions previously implemented for the whole territory of Germany now only apply to imports of commodities originating from those areas listed in the ‘Parts of Germany restricted due to FMD outbreaks’ document. The following amendments have been made:

• Live ungulates: model certificates BOV-X, BOV-Y, OVI-X, OVI-Y, RUM, POR-X, POR-Y and SUI have been reinstated to entries covering the area outside the CZ (DE-1, DE-2.1 and DE-3).
• Fresh meat of ungulates: model certificates BOV, OVI, RUF, RUM, POR, SUF and SUW have been reinstated to entries covering the area outside the CZ (DE-1, DE-2 and DE-5). The existing closing date of 10/12/24 now only applies to the entry covering the CZ (DE-6)
• Meat products:
  • Treatment ‘A’ may be used for meat products of bovine, ovine/caprine and wild cloven-hoofed game from the area outside the CZ (DE-1)
  • Treatments ‘A’, ‘C’ or ‘D’ may be used for porcine and wild swine meat products from the area outside the CZ, depending on whether the meat originates in an ASF-free (DE-1) or ASF Restricted Zone (DE-2, DE-3 or DE-4)
• Milk and milk products: imports of raw milk and raw dairy products (Column A) and heat-treated milk and dairy products (Column B) from the area outside the CZ (DE-0) are now permitted. Imports of raw milk and raw dairy products (Column A) and heat-treated milk and dairy products (Column B) from the CZ (DE-1) are prohibited. Imports of milk and milk products under Column C are permitted from the whole territory of Germany
• Bovine semen: imports of bovine semen from the area outside the CZ (DE-0) are now permitted.
• Bovine embryos: imports of bovine embryos from the area outside the CZ (DE-0) are now permitted.
• Ovine and caprine ova and embryos: imports of ovine and caprine ova and embryos from the area outside the CZ (DE-0) are now permitted
• Ovine and caprine semen: imports of ovine and caprine semen from the area outside the CZ (DE-0) are now permitted

These import conditions apply on a Great Britain-wide basis from 24 March 2025 and will continue to apply until the lists are updated.

In addition, the following safeguard declarations, published on our imports topical issues page, have been revoked and replaced to recognise regionalisation for Germany:

• Declaration of special measures: importation of certain products from Germany
• Declaration of special measures: importation of animal casings from susceptible animals from certain third countries and territories
• Declaration of special measures: importation of untreated wool and hair of susceptible animals from certain third countries and territories

The new safeguard measures, published separately for England, Scotland and Wales, recognise the 6-kilometre restricted zone implemented by Germany. They apply on a GB-wide basis from 25 March 2025 and will continue to apply until they are revoked or amended.

For the purposes of certification, the area outside the CZ has been considered free of FMD for at least 24 months.

For bovine, ovine and caprine semen, ova and embryos certificates, the appropriate ISO code as described in column 1 of the following lists should be added to Box I.8 of the relevant certificate and to the first paragraph of the animal health attestations:

• bovine semen
• ovine and caprine semen
• bovine embryos
• ovine and caprine ova and embryos

This provides assurance that the products originate from animals outside of the CZ.

Moreover, having reviewed the restrictions in place for Germany, the UK Office for SPS Trade Assurance has identified that certain commodities had been erroneously restricted in the above safeguard declarations. To rectify these errors, the following changes have been made:

• Restrictions on extruded dry pet food have been removed from ‘Declaration of special measures: importation of certain products from Germany’. This has been achieved through amendment of point 2(f) to: ‘processed pet food other than canned pet food, unless it is extruded dry pet food or has been subjected to one of the treatments referred to in points (i), (ii), (iii) or (v) of paragraph 3(b) Chapter II in Annex 13 to Regulation 142/2011’.
• Intermediate products, research and diagnostic samples and trade samples have been specifically excluded from the restrictions in ‘Declaration of special measures: importation of certain products from Germany’.
• Rodents have been removed from the list of susceptible animals in ‘Declaration of special measures: importation of certain products from Germany’ and ‘Declaration of special measures: importation of untreated wool and hair of susceptible animals from certain third countries and territories’. ‘Susceptible animals’ in the new declarations means ‘a cow, bull, sheep, goat, deer, camel, llama, alpaca, guanaco, vicuna, any other ruminant, any swine (that is, a member of the suborder Suina of the order Artiodactyla) or elephant’. This change does not apply to ‘Declaration of special measures: importation of animal casings from susceptible animals from certain third countries and territories’, as rodents were not included in the original definition of susceptible animals.

It should be noted that parts of Germany are currently under restriction due to African swine fever (ASF) outbreaks in domestic pigs and/or wild boar. This means that imports of fresh porcine and wild swine meat and meat products (unless treated to mitigate ASF) from ASF-affected parts of Germany continue to be prohibited. Imports of porcine semen from the whole territory of Germany are prohibited due to ASF outbreaks.

In addition, Germany’s Bluetongue Virus 3 (BTV-3) status (as denoted by the inclusion of supplementary guarantee “A” in column 6 of the live ungulates list) means that imports of live ruminants from Germany cannot be certified. This is because countries with BTV-3 cannot comply with the vaccination option in certificates.

3. Annex 1

The safeguard declarations suspend imports of hay and straw originating from Germany, and imports of the following animal by-products of susceptible animals, where the animal by-product originates from Germany:

• wool and hair, unless it complies with sub-paragraph (c) or (d) in Article 25 (2) of Regulation 142/2011
• untreated pig bristles (GBHC571)
• pig bristles (GBHC570), unless boiled for at least one hour
• treated hides and skins (GBHC541 and GBHC542), except:
  • hides and skins having undergone the complete process of tanning
  • wet blue
  • pickled pelts
  • limed hides which have been treated with lime and in brine at a pH of 12 to 13 for at least 8 hours
• untreated game trophies and other preparations of ungulates consisting of entire anatomical parts (GBHC543)
• treated game trophies or other preparations consisting of hides and skins (GBHC544), except those referred to in paragraph (1) of Section 5 of Chapter II of Annex 14 to Regulation 142/2011
• treated game trophies or other preparations consisting of bone, horns, hooves, claws, antlers or teeth (GBHC544), except those referred to in paragraph (1) of Section 5 of Chapter II of Annex 14 to Regulation 142/2011, unless immersed in boiling water for an appropriate time so as to ensure that any matter other than bone, horns, hooves, claws, antlers or teeth is removed, and disinfected with hydrogen peroxide where parts consisting of bone are concerned
• rendered fats for use outside the feed chain (GBHC511), unless subjected to one of the processing methods 1 to 5 as referred to in Chapter III of Annex IV to Regulation 142/2011
• fat derivatives (GBHC513 and GBHC512) unless subjected to one of the following treatments:
  1. transesterification or hydrolysis at least 200°C, under corresponding appropriate pressure, for 20 minutes (glycerol, fatty acids and esters)
  2. hydrogenation at 160°C at 12 bars (12000 hPa) pressure for 20 minutes
  3. any of the processing methods 1 to 5, as referred to in Chapter III of Annex IV to Regulation 142/2011
  4. saponification with NaOH 12M (glycerol and soap) in either a: batch process at 95°C for 3 hours; or continuous process at 140°C, 2 bars (2000 hPa) for 8 minutes
• milk, milk-based products and milk-derived products not for human consumption (GBHC583)
• bones and bone products, horns and horn products and hooves and hoof products intended for use other than as feed material organic fertilisers or soil improvers, unless accompanied by a commercial document stamped by the Competent Authority supervising the establishment of origin that one of the treatments referred to in points (iii), (iv) or (v) of paragraph 2(d) of Annex XIV, Chapter II, Section 7 of Regulation 142/2011 has been applied
• processed manure from FMD-susceptible animals (GBHC550)
• dog chews (GBHC563) made from untanned hides and skins or from bones of susceptible animals. Other types of dog chew will continue to be permitted if they comply with the treatment requirements in GBHC563
• processed petfood (other than canned petfood or extruded dry pet food) unless it has been subjected to one of the treatments referred to in points (i), (ii), (iii) or (v) of paragraph 3(b) of Chapter II in Annex XIII to Regulation 142/2011

4. Actions for OVSs

To note the contents of this OVS note.

5. Contact point for enquiries

bbtp-issue-triage@defra.gov.uk

imports@apha.gov.uk

Imports and EU Trade Team