Regulation for the Import of Equine Species of Animals into India

Published vide Notification New Delhi, the 7th May, 2010

Act2275

Ministry of Agriculture

(Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries)

G.S.R. 389(E). - In exercise of the powers conferred by Sub-section (1) of Section 3 of the Livestock Importation Act, 1898 (9 of 1898) and in supersession of the notification G.S.R 238(E) dated 6th April, 2009 published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (1), the Central Government hereby regulates the import of equine species of animals into India. 2. Import of equines shall be regulated as per procedure laid down in the Schedule annexed to this notification. Schedule

1. Eligibility: - Import of equines shall be allowed only if the following conditions are satisfied, namely:- (i) the equine should come from a country;

(a) which is free from African Horse Sickness;

(b) where Contagious Equine Metritis (CEM) has not been reported during the last twenty months;

(c) if the horses come from the Contagious Equine Metritis infected country, import is allowed on the following conditions;

(i) males up to seven years and female up to five years of age which have not been mated, or the breeding horses that have mated and pregnant mares comes from an establishment which has been free from Contagious Equine Metritis for at least three years;

(ii) in case of Thoroughbred horses, import will be allowed for breeding/polo/games etc;

(iii) prior to export the equines are required to under go pre-export quarantine for necessary testing;

(iv) the equine shall be imported only through the International airports of Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai or any other airport notified by the Government from time to time and the quarantine officers may be informed by the importer in writing at least fifteen days prior to the arrival of the consignment;

(v) the animals with more than three hundred days of pregnancy prior to departure are not to be imported.

2. Identification: - The equine must be accompanied with a valid passport; or In case the horse originates from countries not issuing a passport, the import must be accompanied by a complete history sheet with an identification certificate duly authenticated by an official veterinarian of the exporting country. 3. Veterinary Certificate: - The equine must be accompanied by a valid health certificate issued by an official veterinarian of the exporting country as per following format:

Veterinary Certificate For Import of Equines Into India

Exporting country: ____________________________________________________________________Ministry of: ____________________________________________________________________Department: ____________________________________________________________________Province or District, etc.: ____________________________________________________________________

I. Identification of the animal/s

(a) Details of the animal:

Species	Breed	Name/Tattoo	Sex	Age/Date/Year of Birth	Color	Passport License No.	Sire	Dam

(b) Diagram, marks and description of the animal: ____________________________________________________________________ Please ensure that the diagram and written description agree

II. Origin of the animal/s

Name and address of the exporter: ____________________________________________________________________Place of origin of the animal/s: ____________________________________________________________________

III. Destination of the animal/s

Country of destination: ____________________________________________________________________Name and address of consignee: ____________________________________________________________________Nature and identification of means of transport:___________________________________ IV. Sanitary information

The undersigned Official Veterinarian certifies that the animal described above and examined on this day: (a) shows no clinical sign or symptom of infectious or contagious diseases on the day of shipment;

(b) satisfies the following requirements:-

(1) the country is free from the African Horse Sickness; (2) during one hundred eighty days immediately prior to export, the equine under export has not visited any country where African Horse Sickness occurred in the past two years immediately preceding the export; (3) Contagious Equine Metritis (CEM) has not been reported during last twenty months in the country and the animal has not originated/reared in/visited any of the Contagious Equine Metritis (CEM) infected countries during last two years; or the country has reported Contagious Equine Metritis (CEM) but the animal under export is:- (i) less than seven years (in case of male)/less than five years (in case of female) of age which have never been mated and the equine has not been in contact with breeding stock during twelve months immediately prior to export; or

(ii) the breeding horses that have mated and pregnant mares come from an establishment which has been free from CEM for at least 3 years;

(4) in the cases of (i) and (ii) of the requirement (3), swabs collected from prepuce, urethra, vagina and cervix, as the case may be, of the equines has been found negative for pathogenic micro-organisms, specifically Taylorella equigenitalis, by standard culture on two consecutive occasions at seven days interval during the pre-export quarantine; (5) the equine was kept in an establishment for three months prior to shipment where no infectious or contagious disease, including Epizootic Lymphangitis, Ulcertive Lymphangitis, Trypansomiasis, Dourine, Equine Piroplasmosis, Equine Rhiopneumonitis, Equine Encephlomyelitis, Equine Influenza, Equine Infectious Anemia, Potomac Horse Fever, West Nile Virus infection and Vesicular Stomatiis was reported and no such diseases were reported around such establishment; (6) the animal prior to export has been vaccinated with Equine Influenza vaccine, and the last vaccination should be within thirty days but not less than fourteen days prior to embarkation; (7) the equine being exported has been kept in isolations in an approved Government quarantine station and subjected to the following tests with negative results, namely:-

Disease	Diagnostic Test	Condition
(1)	(2)	(3)
Glanders	Mallein/Complement Fixation Test (CFT)	During fifteen days before shipment
Dourine	Complement Fixation Test (CFT)	Fifteen days before shipment
Equine Infectious Anaemia (EIA)	Coggins (Immunodiffusion Test)	During thirty days before shipment
Infectious Equine Abortion (Salmonella abortus equi)	Serum Agglutination Test (titre not greater than one/three thousand)	During fifteen days before shipment
Equine Viral Arteritis (EVA)	Virus Neutralisation Test	Two occasions at least fourteen days apart with negative result during twentY eight days prior to shipment.
Vesicular Stomatitis	Complement Fixation Test (CFT) or Enzyme-linked immunosorbent asay (ELISA)	At least 21 days after the commencement of pre-export quarantine.
Contagious Equine Metritis (CEM)	Culture of Micro-organisms	Two consecutive tests at weekly interval during pre-export quarantine period with negative results.
Equine Piroplasmosis (Babesia equi and Babesia caballi)	Complement Fixation Test (CFT) or Indirect Fluorescent Antibody Test (IFAT)	During thirty days before
Venezuelan Equine Encephalomyelitis	Haemagglutination Inhibition (HI) or Complement Fixation Test (CFT) or Plaque Reduction Neutralisation Test (PRNT)	Not less than fourteen days after the commencement of pre-export quarantine.

N.B.: No testing is necessary in respect of such diseases for which freedom status has been certified and in cases of castrated horses gelding for Contagious Equine Metritis.Official Stamp:

Signature:____________________ _________________________ Name and address of Veterinarian Issued at________ on_________

4. Post Import Quarantine: - After import in India, the animal shall be kept in quarantine for a minimum period of thirty days at the Government Quarantine Station. During the quarantine period, the animal shall be subject to standard culture and serological examination for any disease as deemed necessary. In case of Contagious Equine Metritis (CEM), three consecutive samples drawn at seven days interval should be tested negative. In the event of any animal being found positive for any exotic disease, the animal shall be deported back to the country of origin/destroyed at the quarantine station at the cost of the importer.