S.L. 437.80 чл. 2Definitions.

For the purposes of these regulations, the following definitions shall apply:

"the Act" means the Veterinary Services Act; "animal" means any animal belonging to a susceptible species, excluding wild animals with regard to which specific provisions may be adopted in accordance with the procedure provided in the definition "Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health" under this rule; "bluetongue disease" means a non-contagious insect-borne viral disease of ruminants, mainly sheep and less frequently cattle, such as goats, buffalos, and antelope, caused by the bluetongue virus which is transmitted by an insect of the species and any Culicoides imicola other Culicoides insects, hereinafter referred to as "vectors"; "the Commission" means the European Commission; "the Community" means the European Community as established by the Treaty on the European Union as amended by subsequent treaties; "the competent authority" means the Department of Veterinary Services in Malta as established by article 2 of the Act; "confirmation" means the declaration by the competent authority, based on laboratory results, that the bluetongue virus is circulating in a specific area; however, in the event of an epidemic, the competent authority, may also confirm the presence of the disease on the basis of clinical and, or epidemiological results; "holding"means any agricultural or other establishment where animals of species susceptible to bluetongue are permanently or

*These rules have been repealed by Legal Notice 77 of 2025. temporarily reared or kept;

"intra-Community trade" means trade between Member States in animals and their products, a business or occupation to make profit or gain, particularly in retail or wholesale sales and includes dealings in a particular business activity; "live attenuated vaccines" means vaccines which are produced by adapting bluetongue virus field isolate through serial passages in tissue culture or in embryonated hens’ eggs;

"Member State" means a state which is a member of the European Union;

"national crisis unit" means an animal disease crises management unit or a facility which provides animal disease analysis and information, and which deploys or sets up international resources to prevent and contain dangerous animal diseases. Such unit aims at:

(a) strengthening of disease intelligence and emergency preparedness;

(b) supporting broad awareness creation and risk communication;

(c) analyzing the social and economic consequences of both the disease and its control;

(d) strengthening field surveillance, laboratory capabilities, global surveillance and early warning capabilities;

(e) advising the government and building capacities on disease surveillance prevention and control programmes;

"official veterinarian" means the veterinarian designated by the competent authority;

"owner" or "holder" means any natural or legal person owning the animals or responsible for their upkeep, whether in return for payment or not; "person" means any natural or legal person;

"Scientific Veterinary Committee" means a committee within the Commission which monitors matters of a scientific nature and which aim and scope is to: inter alia

(a) protect and raise the health status and condition of animals in the Community, in particular food-producing animals, while promoting intra-Community trade and imports of animals and animal products in accordance with the appropriate health and zootechnical standards’ improvement and technology of animal husbandry and international obligations;

(b) analyse scientific and technical questions concerning all aspects of animal health, hygiene, and animal diseases; "Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health" or "the Committee" means a Committee made up of the representatives of Member States, named committee members, who assist and consult the Commission by delivering an Opinion regarding safety measures with respect to animal health issues to be then formally adopted by the Commission in accordance with the appropriate procedure. Such committee procedure covers the entire food supply chain, ranging from animal health issues on the farm to the product which arrives to the final consumer, therefore significantly enhancing its ability to target risks to health wherever they arise in the production of food;

"susceptible species" means all ruminants; "suspicion" means the appearance of any clinical sign suggesting bluetongue in a susceptible species, together with a set of epidemiological data enabling such a possibility to be reasonably envisaged; "vector" means an insect of the species or any Culicoides imicola other insect of the genus capable of transmitting Culicoides bluetongue, to be identified n accordance with the procedure provided in the definition "Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health" under rule 2,on the advice of the Scientific Veterinary Committee.