Title and commencement

1. This Order may be cited as the Heads of Sheep and Goats Order 1996 and shall come into force on 15th September 1996.

Interpretation

2.-(1) In this Order, unless the context otherwise requires-

"approved" means approved under the Specified Bovine Material Order;

"food" has the meaning given in the Food Safety Act 1990(3);

"non-scheme animals" means bovine animals other than those slaughtered pursuant to the purchase scheme introduced under Commission Regulation (EC) No. 716/96(4) adopting exceptional support measures for the beef market in the United Kingdom;

"sell" includes have in possession for sale and offer or expose for sale;

"slaughterhouse" means any building, premises or place licensed for slaughtering animals the flesh of which is intended for sale for human consumption;

"specified bovine material" has the meaning given in article 2(1) of the Specified Bovine Material Order; and

"the Specified Bovine Material Order" means the Specified Bovine Material (No. 3) Order 1996(5).

(2) For the purposes of this Order the supply of the head of a sheep or goat, or of food, otherwise than by sale at, in or from any place where food is supplied in the course of a business shall be deemed to be a sale.

Heads of sheep or goats for human consumption

3.-(1) No person shall sell for human consumption any part of the head of a sheep or goat or any food containing any part of the head of a sheep or goat.

(2) No person shall use any part of the head of a sheep or goat in the preparation of food for sale for human consumption.

(3) No person shall sell any part of the head of a sheep or goat for use in the preparation of food for sale for human consumption.

(4) For the purposes of this article "the head of a sheep or goat" includes any product derived therefrom but does not include the tongue where this has been removed immediately after slaughter but before the staining of the head.

(5) This article shall not apply to the head of any sheep or goat born, reared and slaughtered in Australia or New Zealand.

Initial treatment of heads of sheep and goats in a slaughterhouse

4.-(1) When a sheep or goat is slaughtered in a slaughterhouse, or slaughtered elsewhere than in a slaughterhouse but brought immediately to a slaughterhouse to be dressed for human consumption, the occupier of the slaughterhouse shall ensure that the head is removed from the rest of the carcase.

(2) Subject to paragraph (4) and article 7 below, the occupier shall ensure that any such head is stained immediately after slaughter by being treated (whether by immersion, spraying or other application) with a 0.5% weight/volume solution of the colouring agent Patent Blue V (E131, 1971 Colour Index No. 42051) in such a way that the colouring is clearly visible over the whole of the cut surface and the majority of the head; except that, if the tongue is to be removed, removal of the tongue shall take place immediately after slaughter and the head shall be stained immediately after such removal.

(3) The occupier shall ensure that the head, excluding the tongue where this has been removed, does not come into contact with any other animal material, with the exception of specified bovine material from non-scheme animals, while in the slaughterhouse and that it is disposed of in accordance with article 9 of this Order.

(4) In the case of any head which is intended to be examined by or on behalf of an officer of the appropriate Minister or a veterinary surgeon, the head shall not be stained until after the completion of the examination.

Initial treatment of the heads of sheep and goats elsewhere than in a slaughterhouse

5.-(1) Subject to paragraph (4) and article 7 below, when the head of a sheep or goat is removed from the carcase elsewhere than in a slaughterhouse, the occupier of the premises at which the head is removed shall ensure that it is stained immediately by being treated (whether by immersion, spraying or other application) with a 0.5% weight/volume solution of the colouring agent Patent Blue V (E131, 1971 Colour Index No. 42051) in such a way that the colouring is clearly visible over the whole of the cut surface and the majority of the head.

(2) The occupier shall ensure that the head does not come into contact with any other animal material, with the exception of specified bovine material from non-scheme animals, while on the premises and that it is disposed of in accordance with article 9 of this Order.

(3) In the case of any head which is intended to be examined by or on behalf of an officer of the appropriate Minister or a veterinary surgeon, the head shall not be stained until after the completion of the examination.

(4) The provisions of this article shall not apply in the case of a post-mortem examination carried out by a veterinary surgeon or a veterinary practitioner provided that he makes arrangements for the disposal of the whole of the carcase by burial or incineration.

Rendering whole carcases

6. Any person rendering the whole carcase of a sheep or goat shall do so in accordance with article 10 of the Specified Bovine Material Order as if the carcase were specified bovine material.

Exceptions from the requirement to stain heads of sheep and goats

7. The requirement in articles 4(2) and 5(1) above to stain the head of a sheep or goat shall not apply if the head is-

(a)to be sent to a veterinary or medical school, laboratory, hospital or similar institution for instructional, diagnostic or research purposes, provided that it is stored separately from all other animal materials and is clearly identified; or

(b)intended to be used for non-food or non-feedingstuff purposes and is sent directly to premises referred to in article 9(1)(e) for treatment as if it were specified bovine material.

Procedure for bringing in heads of sheep or goats from Northern Ireland

8.-(1) No person shall bring the head of a sheep or goat into Great Britain from Northern Ireland unless it is stained in accordance with legislation having effect in Northern Ireland and corresponding to the provisions of these Regulations relating to staining, or it is exempt from the requirement to stain under that legislation by virtue of provisions corresponding to regulation 7 above.

(2) Any person bringing the head of a sheep or goat into Great Britain from Northern Ireland shall immediately transport it to one of the destinations specified in article 9(1) below.

Consignment of heads of sheep or goats

9.-(1) Once the head has been removed from the carcase of a sheep or goat and treated in accordance with this Order, the person responsible for its removal from the carcase shall, without unreasonable delay, send it directly to-

(a)an approved collection centre;

(b)an approved rendering plant;

(c)premises referred to in article 7 above;

(d)an approved incinerator; or

(e)any other premises approved by the appropriate Minister which are not connected with the manufacture or preparation of food of feedingstuffs,

where, subject to article 10 below, it shall be treated as if it were specified bovine material.

(2) Any person consigning the head of a sheep or goat from the place where it was removed from the carcase shall keep, for two years from the date of consignment, a record indicating the date of consignment, destination and weight consigned.

Application of the Specified Bovine Material Order

10. Articles 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 24 and 25 of the Specified Bovine Material Order shall apply in relation to any head of a sheep or goat which has been removed from the carcase as if any such head were specified bovine material, subject to the modifications that-

(a)in articles 18(7)(a) and (b) and 20(1)(a), the requirements to label or mark a container used for specified bovine material with the words "specified bovine material" shall be construed as a requirement to label or mark a container used for any head of a sheep or goat with the words "specified material"; and

(b)in article 20(1) the reference to article 11 of the Specified Bovine Material Order shall be construed as a reference to article 7 of this Order.

Enforcement

11. This Order shall be enforced-

(a)in relation to premises licensed under the Fresh Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1995(6) by the appropriate Minister; and

(b)in any other case by the local authority.

Offences

12. Any person who, without lawful authority or excuse, proof of which shall lie on him, contravenes any provision of this Order commits an offence against the Animal Health Act 1981.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order prohibits the sale for human consumption of any part of the head of a sheep or goat and of food containing any part of such heads. It also prohibits the sale of any part of the head of a sheep or goat for use in the preparation of food for sale for human consumption and the use of any part of such heads in the preparation of such food (article 3). The definition of "the head of a sheep or goat" does not include the tongue and the prohibitions do not apply to the heads of sheep and goats which were born, reared and slaughtered in Australia or New Zealand.

The heads of sheep and goats are required to be removed immediately after slaughter and stained and disposed of in accordance with the Order (articles 4 and 5) except in prescribed circumstances (article 7). The Order also regulates the manner of their disposal (articles 9 and 10).

Conditions are laid down for the rendering of whole carcases (article 6) and for the bringing into Great Britain of heads of sheep and goats from Northern Ireland (article 8).

A Compliance Cost Assessment has been prepared and placed in the library of each House of Parliament. Copies can be obtained from the Animal Health (BSE 1) Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Government Buildings, Hook Rise South, Tolworth, Surbiton, Surrey KT6 7NF.