Bringing poultry from Sweden

When moving poultry for slaughter, the birds shall have been kept at a registered establishment since hatching or for at least 21 days before they can travel.

There are more rules when you intend to move day-old chickens:

• The chickens must come from an approved hatching establishment.
• The chickens shall have been hatched from eggs that comply with the requirements for hatching eggs which you can read under the heading Eggs for hatching from poultry.
• The chickens shall have been hatched from eggs which come from flocks controlled by an official veterinarian.

The rules are simpler when you are moving less than 20 poultry. The simpler rules apply for all species except ostriches. The rules for ostriches are the same regardless of how many ostriches you are going to move from Sweden.

When you are intending to move fewer than 20 hatching eggs, the following rules apply:

• The poultry shall have been kept in a registered establishment since hatching or for at least 21 days before they are sent .
• If the animals come from a flock which is involved in the monitoring programme for low pathogenic avian influenza, there must not have been any confirmed cases of infection during the last three weeks before they are sent .
• The poultry must not have been in contact with poultry from other flocks, during the last 21 days before being sent away. They may only have had contact with birds subject to the same animal health rules. This means, for example, that when poultry have been tested for certain diseases, they may only come in contact with poultry that has been tested for the same diseases.
• Ducks and geese shall have been tested for highly pathogenic avian influenza. This is not needed, however, if they are going to be sent directly for slaughter.
• Poultry shall come from flocks which have tested negatively for Salmonella and Mycoplasma according to special rules.

A number of rules apply when you are moving hatching eggs:

• The hatching eggs must come from an approved establishment.
• The hatching eggs must come from flocks that have been kept in one or more approved establishments since hatching or for at least six weeks before the collection of the eggs.
• The hatching eggs must come from flocks that have tested negatively for Salmonella and Mycoplasma in accordance with special rules.
• The hatching eggs must be labelled with the approval number of the original flock’s establishment.
• The hatching eggs must have been disinfected.

The rules are simpler when you are moving fewer than 20 hatching eggs. The simpler rules apply for all species except for hatching eggs from ostriches. The rules for hatching eggs from ostriches are the same regardless of how many hatching eggs you are intending to move from Sweden.

When you are moving out fewer than 20 hatching eggs, the following rules apply:

• The hatching eggs must come from a registered establishment.
• The hatching eggs must come from flocks that have been held in a registered establishment since hatching or for at least at least 21 days before collection of the eggs.
• The hatching eggs must come from flocks that have tested negatively for Salmonella and Mycoplasma in accordance with special rules.

Captive birds are birds that are kept for other reasons than the poultry which have been raised or kept for breeding, meat or egg production or for releasing. These may be those that are kept for shows and competitions or for raising and sale.

There are a number of rules when you are intending to move captive birds out of Sweden:

• There must be a health certificate.
• The birds shall have been kept at a registered establishment since hatching or for at least 21 days before they are sent.
• If the birds have been brought into Sweden from a country outside the EU, they shall have been in quarantine at an approved quarantine centre in Sweden before being moved to another EU Member State. At this moment, there are no approved quarantines in Sweden so this must be done in another EU-country before arriving to Sweden.
• Pigeons shall have been vaccinated against Newcastle disease and must come from an establishment where they vaccinate their pigeons.

There are a number of rules when you are intending to move hatching eggs from captive birds.

• The hatching eggs must come from a registered establishment.
• The hatching eggs must come from flocks that have been kept at a registered establishment.

This applies, when you are transporting pigeons to another EU Member State, in order to release the pigeons and let them fly home:

• The pigeons shall have been vaccinated against Newcastle disease and must come from an establishment where they vaccinate their pigeons.
• You, as the person who is responsible for the pigeons in the country from which they come, must write a self-declaration, stating that the pigeons meet all the requirements. Each country shall have a template for the self-declaration, which must be used. The self-declaration must accompany the animals when they travel. There does not have to be a health certificate written by a veterinarian.
• If the animals have been brought into Sweden from a country outside the EU, they must have been in quarantine at an approved quarantine facility in Sweden before they travel to another EU Member State.