All Products of Animal Origin (POAO) introduced into the EU from
third countries must undergo veterinary checks at an approved
Border Inspection Post (BIP). An extensive list of products of
animal origin under the veterinary check regime can be found at
Commission Decision 2007/275/EC.
Correction Letters/Replacement Certificates
In order to assist the trade LPHA has decided that from 1
February 2011 for minor or typographical errors we will consider
releasing consignments on receipt of a scanned copy of the original
document on an email sent directly from the certifying authorities
to LPHA. This is on the understanding that the original
will be sent and received within 14 days. If importers/agents fail
to supply the original within the 14 days, then this facility will
be withdrawn and future consignments will only be released
when the original documents have been received.
Section 3 of the LPHA Enforcement Policy for Veterinary Checks
explains this in detail, last updated 8 December 2011.
Download the LPHA Enforcement Policy for
Veterinary Checks (55kb).
Importer's Declaration
If you are importing processed wool, feathers, hides & skins
or hunting trophies through the Tilbury or Thamesport BIPs, please
complete our Importer's Declaration and forward it to the BIP where
the consignment is being imported through.
Download a copy of the Importer's Declaration (132kb)
Legislation/Advice
APHA has produced guidance for the importation of products of
animal origin. This can be found on the
APHA website
Council Directive 97/78/EC lays down the
principles of the veterinary checks. This Directive is
implemented in the UK by
The Trade in Animals and Related
Products Regulations 2011(SI 2011 No. 1197).
All UK legislation can be obtained from the
Office of Public
Sector Information (the re-branded HMSO website).
The European Union has also published information about
veterinary checks on
the EUROPA website.
Further information and advice on importing fishery products can
be found on the
Food Standards Agency (FSA) website. Imports
of aquaculture products must be accompanied by an animal health
certificate, click on the link below to view our
information sheet. Importer Information Notes for other products
of animal origin can be viewed on the
Defra website.
Download the animal health certificate
information sheet (35kb)
The person responsible for the consignment must ensure that
all products of animal origin from third countries are
presented at a BIP approved to carry out veterinary checks on that
product.
Pre-notification
The person responsible for the consignment must notify the
Official Veterinarian (OV) or the Official Fish Inspector (OFI) (in
the case of fish and fishery products) at the BIP in advance of the
arrival of consignments. Failure to do this and the removal of a
consignment before checks are carried out may result in it being
treated as an illegal import.
This pre-notification is in the form of Part 1 of the Common
Veterinary Entry Document (CVED) fully completed and must be
submitted at the BIP before the consignment arrives.
CVED was published in
Commission Regulation (EC) No
136/2004.