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PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF INFECTIOUS AND CONTAGIOUS DISEASES IN ANIMALS ACT, 2009
27 OF 2009
Enforce, w.e.f. the date to be notified-The Glanders and Farcy Act, 1899 and the Dourine Act, 1910-Repeal The following Act of Parliament received the assent of the President on the 20th March, 2009, and is hereby published for general information:- An Act to provide for the prevention, control and eradication of infectious and contagious diseases affecting animals, for prevention of outbreak or spreading of such diseases from one State to another, and to meet the international obligations of India for facilitating import and export of animals and animal products and for matters connected therewith, or incidental thereto. Whereas economic losses due to infectious and contagious diseases of animals are enormous in the country with some of these diseases constituting a serious threat to the public; And whereas many of such animal diseases can be largely prevented by judicious implementation of vaccination programmes or by taking other appropriate and timely measures on scientific lines; And whereas such measures are necessary to facilitate the import and export of animals and animal products and to keep in tune with international practices; And whereas it has been realised that the prevention, control and eradication of infectious and contagious diseases of animals from India has to be tackled on a national basis so as to avoid adverse impact of such diseases on the economy of the country and for this purpose harmonise the control procedures and to prevent inter-State transmission of animal diseases; And whereas the national level handling has to be done with the active involvement of the State Governments, particularly in regard to the precautionary measures required to be taken within their jurisdiction in respect of certain infectious and contagious diseases and the regulation of movement of animals outside their respective areas by timely adoption of appropriate measures; And whereas India is a Member Country of the Office International Des Epizooties, Paris and it is necessary to implement the general obligations, decisions and recommendations of the said Organisation and abide by the International Animal Health Code stipulated by the said Organisation; Be it enacted by Parliament in the Sixtieth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-
CHAPTER 1 : PRELIMINARY
SECTION 1 : Short title extent and commencement
(1) This Act may be called the Prevention and Control of Infectious and Contagious Diseases in Animals Act, 2009.
(2) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification, appoint; and different dates may be appointed for different States or for different areas therein as well as for different provisions of this Act, and any reference in any such provision of this Act to the commencement of this Act shall be construed in relation to any State or area or provision as a reference to the coming into force of this Act or, as the case may be, of that provision, in such State or area.
SECTION 2 : Definitions
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,- (a) "animal" means,
(i) cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat, yak, mithun;
(ii) dog, cat, pig, horse, camel, ass, mule, poultry, bees; and
(iii) any other animal or bird as the Central Government may, by notification, specify;
(b) "Check Post" means any placee established as such by the Director to carry out checking of animals for the purpose of this Act;
(c) "Competent Officer" means any person or officer of the Government notified as a Competent Officer under Sec. 17;
(d) "compulsory vaccination" means vaccination of any animal against any scheduled disease in respect of which vaccination is made mandatory under the provisions of this Act;
(e) "controlled area" means any local area which has been declared as such by the State Government under sub-sec. (1) of Sec. 6;
(f) "defective vaccine" means any vaccine which is expired, breach in seal, contaminated, improperly stored, unlabelled or with mutilated label;
(g) "Director", in relation to a State, means any officer in charge of the Department of Animal Husbandry or Veterinary Services, or both, notified by the State Government as such for the purpose of this Act;
(h) "free area" means any controlled area which has been declared as such under sub-sec. (5) of Sec. 6;
(i) "infected animal" means an animal which is infected with any scheduled disease;
(j) "infected area" means an area declared as such under Sec. 20;
(k) "notification" means notification published in the Official Gazette;
(l) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(m) "publication" includes propagation of information through the media or newspaper or any other mass media and the means of local communication such as declaration in loud voice and by beating drums in the area;
(n) "Quarantine Camp" means any place declared to carry out quarantine of ani- 'mals and birds for the purpose of this Act;
(o) "scheduled disease" means any disease included in the Schedule;
(p) "Veterinarian" means a person having a recognised veterinary qualification who, under the law for the time being in force, is allowed to treat animal diseases;
(q) "Veterinary Officer" means any officer, appointed as such by the State Government under clause (b) of Sec. 3;
(r) "Village Officer", in relation to a village, means any person who is authorised or designated as such in accordance with the qualifications prescribed by the State Government.
CHAPTER 2 : CONTROL OF SCHEDULED DISEASES
SECTION 3 : Appointment of Venterinary Officers
The State Government may, by notification, appoint- (a) such number of persons, as it deems proper, to be Veterinarians to undertake inspection and specifying the local limits of their respective jurisdiction; and
(b) such number of Veterinarians, as it deems proper, to be Veterinary Officers, who shall exercise their powers and discharge their duties within the local limits of their jurisdiction as may be specified in the said notification.
SECTION 4 : Reporting scheduled diseases obligatory
(1) Every owner, or any other person, non-governmental organisation, public bodies or the village panchayat, in charge of any animal which he or it has reason to believe to be infective of a scheduled disease shall report the fact to the Village Officer or village panchayat in-charge, who may report the same in writing to the nearest available Veterinarian.
(2) The Village Officer shall visit the area falling within his jurisdiction for reporting any outbreak of the disease.
(3) Every Veterinarian shall, on receipt of a report under sub-sec. (1), or otherwise, if he has reason to believe that any animal is infected with a scheduled disease, report the matter to the Veterinary Officer.
(4) Where in any State there is any occurrence of scheduled disease in relation to any animal, the Director shall send an intimation to the Directors of the States which are in the immediate neighbourhood of the place where there is such occurrence, for taking appropriate preventive measures against the spread of the disease.
SECTION 5 : Duty to segregate infected animals
(1) Every owner or person in charge of an animal, which he has reason to believe is infective of a scheduled disease, shall segregate such animal and have it kept in a place away from all other animals which are healthy, and take all possible steps to prevent the infected animal from coming in contact with any other animal.
(2) The owner or other person in charge of, or having control over, the animal referred to in sub-sec. (1) shall confine that animal and prevent it from grazing in a common place or to drink water from any common source including a vessel, pond, lake or river.
(3) All other infected animals shall be segregated by the Municipality, Panchayat or other local administration.
SECTION 6 : Notification of controlled areas and free areas
(1) State Government may, with the object of preventing, controlling or eradicating any scheduled disease, by notification, declare any area to be a controlled area in respect of any scheduled disease affecting any species of animal and any other species that may be susceptible to the disease specified in the said notification.
(2) The State Government shall also cause the substance of the notification issued under sub-sec. (1) to be published in a local newspaper in the vernacular language and by declaration in loud voice and by beating drums in the area.
(3) Where a notification has been issued under sub-sec. (1), all animals of the species in the controlled area shall be subjected to compulsory vaccination against that disease, and be subjected to such other measures against the disease, in such manner and within such time as the State Government, may, by public notice, direct.
(4) The State Government shall make available necessary vaccine and it shall be obligatory on the part of every owner, or the person in charge of an animal which is required to be vaccinated under sub-sec. (3), to get the animal compulsorily vaccinated.
(5) Where the State Government is satisfied, on a report received from the Director or otherwise, that, in any controlled area, any of the scheduled diseases affecting any species of animal is no longer prevalent, it may, by notification, declare the area to be a free area in respect of that disease in relation to the particular species of animal.
(6) Where a notification has been issued under sub-sec. (5), no animal of the species or of any other susceptible species with regard to which it is a free area shall be allowed to enter the free area unless duly immunized by vaccination against that particular disease.
SECTION 7 : Prohibition of movement of animals from controlled area
(1) Where a notification has been issued under sub-sec. (1) of Sec. 6 declaring any area as a controlled area in relation to any disease affecting any species of animals, no animal belonging to that species shall be moved from the place where it is kept.
(2) The Director may, for the purpose of control, prevention or eradication of any scheduled disease, in respect of any area, by order published in the Official Gazette, prohibit the movement of all animals belonging to any species specified therein, from the place where it is kept, to any other place.
(3) Nothing contained in sub-sees. (1) and (2) shall be deemed to prohibit-
(a) the movement of any animal referred to therein, from the place where it is kept, to the nearest place where it can be got vaccinated, so long as the animal is being moved for the purpose of its immunization by vaccination; or
(b) the movement of any such animal, so long as it is accompanied by a valid certificate of vaccination to indicate that the animal is duly immunized against the particular disease and it bears proper mark of such vaccination.
SECTION 8 : Vaccination marking and issue of vaccination certificate
(1) The vaccine to an animal may be administered by any person competent under the law for the time being in force to administer it, and issue a certificate of administration of vaccination.
(2) Where any animal has been vaccinated for any scheduled disease in compliance with the provisions of sub-sec. (1), the person vaccinating the animal shall cause to put a mark by branding, tattooing or ear tagging, or in such other manner as the Director may, by general or special order, direct and the same shall, unless otherwise specified by the Director, shall not be removed.
(3) The authority issuing a certificate of vaccination shall specify the date of vaccination, dates of manufacture and expiry of the vaccine and the date up to which the vaccination of the animal with the particular vaccine shall be valid.
SECTION 9 : Contents of vaccination certificate
Every vaccination certificate issued under this Act shall be in such form and shall contain such particulars as may be prescribed by the Central Government.
SECTION 10 : Entry and exit of animals into controlled area and free area
(1) Where any area has been declared as a controlled area under sub-sec. (1) of Sec. 6 in respect of any disease affecting any species of animals, no animal belonging to that species shall be taken out of, or brought into that area save as provided in Sec. 16.
(2) The Director may, by notice duly published in the Official Gazette and at least in one daily local newspaper in vernacular language, extend the prohibition contained in sub-sec. (1) to any other species of animals, if animals belonging to that species are also likely to be infected with that disease.
(3) No carrier of goods or animal shall carry any animal from or out of a controlled area, free area or infected area by land, sea or air unless he complies with the provisions of Sec. 16.
(4) Nothing contained in sub-sees. (1) to (3) shall apply to the carriage by railway of any animal referred to in those sub-sections through any area which, for the time being, is declared as a controlled area or infected area so long as the animal is not unloaded (for whatsoever purpose or duration) in any place within that area:
Provided that the State Government may, by notification, declare that any species of animal so carried through any local area within the State shall be duly immunized against such scheduled disease, in such manner and within such time as may be specified in that notification and a certificate of vaccination shall be a pre-requisite for the transportation of the animals by the railways through that area:
Provided further that, where any notification as referred to in the first proviso has been issued, it shall be incumbent on the State Government to intimate that fact to the concerned railway authorities so as to enable them to satisfy themselves about the immunization of the animal before transporting it through the local area of the State.
SECTION 11 : Precautionary measures in relation to controlled areas
No person shall take out of the controlled area- (a) any animal, alive or dead, which is infected with, or reasonably suspected to have been infected with, any scheduled disease notified under sub-sec. (1) of Sec. 6,
(b) any kind of fodder, bedding or other material which has come into contact with any animal infected with such disease or could, in any manner, carry the infection of the notified disease, or
(c) the carcass, skin or any other part or product of such animal.
SECTION 12 : Prohibition of markets, fairs exhibition, etc., in the controlled areas
No person, organisation or institution shall hold any animal market, animal fair; animal exhibition and carry on any other activity which involves grouping or gathering of any species of animals within a controlled area: Provided that the Competent Officer may, suo motu or on application made to him in this behalf, relax the prohibition in relation to any species of animals, in a case where animals belonging to that species are not susceptible to the scheduled disease and are incapable of carrying it, if he is satisfied that in the public interest it is necessary to accord such relaxation.
SECTION 13 : Prohibition of bringing of infected animals into market and other places
No person shall bring or attempt to bring into market, fair, exhibition or other congregation of animals or to any public place, any animal which is known to be infected with a scheduled disease.
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