Important notice to farmers and transporters trading or moving animals directly from farms or marts in Ireland

I. I. Registration of premises of origin and destination on TRACES system:

• a recent update to the European Commission’s TRACES system means that it is now necessary, when transporting animals between Member States (including moves to and from Northern Ireland), to register the premises of departure and premises of destination on TRACES in advance of the movement. This update is in line with the Animal Health Law
• registration of farms in the Republic of Ireland can be completed by contacting the local Regional Veterinary Office of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM). Details of these offices can be found on https://www.gov.ie/en/organisation-information/9dc27-contact-us/#regional-veterinary-offices-rvos
• to register a premises in Northern Ireland, the local DAERA regional office should be contacted. Details of these offices can be found on https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/contacts/daera-direct-regional-offices
• this should be done during business hours. If this process is not completed prior to the sale of animals, it may result in export delays as it will not be possible to create a health certificate on the TRACES system

II. II. Registration of the transporter’s authorisation on TRACES system:

All transporters of livestock animals must have a valid transporter authorisation in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005, in order to transport animals over any distance greater than 65km in connection with any economic activity e.g. trade; now, however, details of this authorisation must be registered on TRACES in order for the health certificate to be generated. For queries relating to transporter authorisation, please contact DAFM on transport@agriculture.gov.ie

Action required by traders:

To ensure that no delays are encountered in North-South trade, or in trade between EU Member States, the parties to the trade should ensure in advance that the premises of origin and destination have been registered in TRACES. Once a premises has been correctly registered as an establishment of origin or destination, this will allow them to be selected on the certificate for each movement and they will not need to re-register. If the journey is to be more than 65km, the parties should ensure that the authorisation of the transporter of the animals is registered on TRACES.

TRACES is the European Commission's online platform for sanitary and phytosanitary certification required for the importation of animals, animal products, food and feed of non-animal origin and plants into the European Union, and the intra-EU trade and EU exports of animals and certain animal products. Veterinary health certificates for livestock trade are created on TRACES, using critical information which must be entered on the system, including transporter authorisation details, and places of departure and destination. The system is regularly updated by the Commission to reflect ongoing changes in EU requirements.