Importation of Equine Germinal Products into the Republic of Ireland

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has issued an information note regarding the importation of Equine Germinal products. It is vital that these importation rules are always adhered to, to preserve the high health status of the Irish equine industry and mitigate disease outbreaks.

Germinal products means semen, oocytes and embryos intended for artificial reproduction.

Importing from within the EU

If importing from within the EU you must ensure:

1. The germinal products were collected and stored, from the time of collection or production, in an EU approved Germinal Product Establishment. The EU Commission List is updated regularly.
2. The germinal products travel with an appropriate official Health Certificate issued by the country of origin.
3. The germinal products are accompanied by the appropriate Zootechnical Certificate where the offspring produced from these are intended to be entered or registered in a breeding book for those animals.
4. You must register with TRACES in order to allow the exporter to complete the export certification process. If this is your first time importing Germinal Products, you will need to contact TRACES directly to have the relevant activity validated.
   traces@agriculture.gov.ie.
5. All documentation relating to the import must be retained for a minimum of three years.

Importing from outside the EU (Third Country):

If importing equine germinal products from outside the EU (for example GB, Australia etc) you must ensure:

1. The germinal products travel with an appropriate official Health Certificate issued by the country of origin i.e. an EU approved Third Country Health Certificate.
2. You must register with TRACES in order to be able to submit Part I of the Common Health Entry Document (CHED). TRACES can assist with registration and ensure you have the correct validated activity on your Operator Profile ( traces@agriculture.gov.ie).
3. In addition, you must register with the Department of Agriculture (DAFM) and submit the required paperwork to the DAFM Import Portal. For more details please see ie – Importing Animals and Animal Products from the UK (www.gov.ie)
4. The germinal products are accompanied by the appropriate Zootechnical Certificate where the offspring produced from these are intended to be entered or registered in a breeding book for those animals.
5. Common Health Entry Document (CHED) must be completed on TRACES-NT at least 24 hours prior to the importation and sent to the Nominated Border Control Post (BCP).
6. The appropriate fee for imports of equine germinal products from Third Countries is paid to the DAFM.
7. Germinal products may be imported through any of the BCPs in Ireland. For a list of BCPs and contact details please click here.
8. You must retain all import documents and the validated CHED for a minimum of three years.

Please CLICK HERE for additional detail related to the above and for information on:

• Approved Germinal Product Establishments
• Health Certificates
• Zootechnical Certificates
• Importation from within and Outside the EU