Terrestrial Animal Health Code

The aim of the Terrestrial Animal Health Code (hereafter referred to as the Terrestrial Code) is to assure the sanitary safety of international trade in terrestrial animals and their products. This is achieved through the detailing of health measures to be used by the veterinary authorities of importing and exporting countries to avoid the transfer of agents pathogenic for animals or humans, while avoiding unjustified sanitary barriers.

The health measures in the Terrestrial Code (in the form of standards, guidelines and recommendations) have been formally adopted by the OIE International Committee, the general assembly of all Delegates of OIE Member Countries. This 17th edition incorporates the modifications to the Terrestrial Code agreed during the 76th General Session in May 2008. These include revised chapters on the following subjects: general definitions, notification criteria for listing diseases, obligations and ethics in international trade, import risk analysis, evaluation of Veterinary Services, zoning and compartmentalisation, animal health measures applicable before and at departure, border posts and quarantine stations in the importing country, international transfer and laboratory containment of animal pathogens, rabies, foot and mouth disease, rinderpest, contagious caprine pleuropneumonia, bovine tuberculosis, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, equine influenza, equine rhinopneumonitis, equine viral arteritis, African horse sickness, African swine fever, classical swine fever, avian influenza and Newcastle disease. Revised appendices on prescribed and alternative diagnostic tests for OIE listed diseases, on categorisation of diseases and pathogenic agents by the International Embryo Transfer Society, on inactivation procedures of foot and mouth disease virus and of avian influenza virus, on surveillance for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, for foot and mouth disease, for classical swine fever, for avian influenza and for bluetongue, on animal welfare (including introduction to the guidelines for animal welfare, transport of animals by sea, transport of animals by land, transport by air, slaughter of animals and killing of animals for disease control purposes), on factors to consider in conducting the bovine spongiform encephalopathy risk assessment as well as on model veterinary certificates have also been included. This edition includes a new chapter dedicated to Aethina tumida (small hive beetle) and six new appendices dedicated to the application of compartmentalisation, to the surveillance for African horse sickness and Newcastle disease, to the design and implementation of identification systems to achieve animal traceability, to the somatic cell nuclear transfer in production livestock and horses as well as to the role of the Veterinary Services in food safety.

The 2008 edition of the Terrestrial Code is a two-volume publication. Volume one contains recommendations that apply to a wide range of species, production sectors and/or diseases (so-called  orizontal standards') and volume two contains recommendations on specific diseases (so-called  ertical standards') including recommendations on agent inactivation and on surveillance and risk assessment. While the format of the Terrestrial Code has thus been significantly modified, no significant changes in content (other than those approved at the 76th General Session, as mentioned above) have been introduced.

The development of these standards, guidelines and recommendations is the result of the continuous work since 1960 of one of the OIE's Specialist Commissions, the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Standards Commission. This Commission draws upon the expertise of internationally renowned specialists to prepare draft texts for new articles of the Terrestrial Code or revise existing articles in the light of advances in veterinary science.

The value of the Terrestrial Code is twofold: that the measures published in it are the result of consensus among the veterinary authorities of OIE Member Countries, and that it constitutes a reference within the World Trade Organization Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures as an international standard for animal health and zoonoses.

The OIE Terrestrial Code is a reference document for use by Veterinary Authorities, import/export services, epidemiologists and all those involved in international trade.

Part 1 presents definitions of the key terms or expressions used, the list of animal diseases covered by the OIE, procedures for listing and international reporting of the diseases, ethical rules for international trade and certification, the principles of import risk analysis and the organisation of import and export procedures.

In Part 2 the measures recommended in the Terrestrial Code cover the ‘priority’ diseases for international trade (OIE List), and take into account the wide range of animal disease situations which may prevail in Member Countries.

The appendices of the Terrestrial Code specify the diagnostic tests to be applied before export (thus establishing a link with the OIE Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines for Terrestrial Animals) and describe methods of health and hygiene supervision, with special reference to reproduction, inactivation of pathogens, requirements for the welfare of animals during international transport and during the slaughter or killing of animals for disease control purposes, general principles for surveillance and monitoring systems for the recognition of disease/infection free status, guidelines on animal production food safety and guidelines on antimicrobial resistance.

In addition, a series of model international veterinary certificates is presented, to assist in harmonisation.

A users' guide is available.

The Terrestrial Code is published annually in paper form in the three official OIE languages (English, French and Spanish), and in Russian.
The contents of the current version of the Terrestrial Code can be consulted in Web format. The contents of the 2008 version of the Terrestrial Code will be published in Web format at the beginning of August.