Moving Products of Animal Origin and Animal By-Products

Information on triangular trade is available in the 'Additional information and guidance on changes to rules for POAO, ABP and other RG' section at the bottom of this page.

In May 2023 the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) has approved and published a UK self-declaration of the recovery of freedom from infection with high pathogenicity avian influenza viruses (HPAI) for the zone of Northern Ireland (NI). The declaration can be viewed on the WOAH website. However GB continues to have AI outbreaks. This may have implications for moving animals and SPS goods into Northern Ireland. You can find details on the current position and guidance on the DAERA AI hub.

Defra have provided clarity to traders on the EU’s rules for exporting poultry products due to the ongoing avian influenza (AI) outbreak in Great Britain. For more information see Clarity on the rules for exporting poultry meat and eggs to the EU from avian influenza restricted zones.

Examples of such products include:

• Meat, meat products and meat preparations,
• Fish, shellfish
• Milk and dairy products,
• Table eggs and egg products
• Composite products containing meat, milk, dairy products, eggs or fish
• Honey
• Blood and Blood products
• Animal casings
• Lard and Rendered fat
• Bones, Bone products and Gelatine
• Pet Food
• Farmyard manure and chicken litter
• Genetic material (semen, ova, embryos)
• Animal products for research, education, diagnostic or exhibition purposes
• Feathers, treated feathers and down
• Hay and Straw
• Animal Feed

You can find specific guidance for the following commodities by clicking on the relevant link below:

• Farmyard manure and chicken litter
• Genetic material (semen, ova, embryos)
• Animal products for research, education, diagnostic or exhibition purposes
• Feathers, treated feathers and down
• Hay and Straw
• Composite products containing meat, milk, dairy products, eggs or fish

General guidance is available at Guidance on bringing products of animal origin, animal by products & germplasm from GB to NI and via Introduction to importing animals and animal products.

Please note that alternative arrangements apply to the movement of retail goods by authorised traders. This guide should only be used for goods moving outside those arrangements.

Before moving regulated POAO, ABP and other RG from GB to NI, the business/person responsible for the consignment must:

• Ensure they are registered on TRACES.NT (the online EU system used to pre-notify SPS goods entering EU territory).
• Where required, obtain copies of export health certificates (EHCs) after they have been signed by officials in Great Britain as well as any supporting documents, where necessary. Further details on EHCs is available on Find an export health certificate | gov.uk.The original EHC and the relevant supporting documentation should accompany the consignment.
• Ensure the movement of Prohibited and Restricted (P&R) chilled meat products follows the Guidance for Moving Prohibited & Restricted Chilled Meat Products to NI from GB.
• Where applicable, ensure the consignment meets: marketing standards requirements and that all organic goods have a certificate of inspection (COI).
• Pre-notify DAERA, at least 24 hours in advance of the arrival of the consignment in NI, by creating a Common Health Entry Document for Products (CHED P) on TRACES NT uploading scanned colour copies of the EHCs and any supporting documents such as catch certificates, organic COIs and marketing standards certificates of conformity. Where the document is too large to send as one file it is acceptable to send it in two parts. Further guidance on pre-notification can be found at Pre-notification of the arrival of consignments at a Northern Ireland Point of Entry from GB, with more detailed information on timescales for pre-notification on Timescales for Pre notifying arrival of goods – Q&A.
• Where required ensure the consignment meets the Food Standards Agency labelling requirements which are available at Guidance on health and identification marks that apply from 1 January 2024 | food.gov.uk.
• Ensure the product enters at a seaport or airport Point of Entry (PoE) that has EU designation for that product.
• Ensure that all consignments are identified with an official tamperproof seal applied to the transport and that this seal number is recorded on the EHCs and CHEDs.
• Ensure that any wood packaging material moving from GB to NI is ISPM15 compliant (heat treated and stamped).
• Follow the groupage guidance for consignments being moved under the groupage scheme.
• Find out what customs procedures apply and avail, if required, of the free Trader Support Service which provides assistance with completing customs declarations. If needed you can get an EORI Number at EORI | gov.uk. Finally make sure the consignment adheres to Rules of Origin guidance.

On arrival in Northern Ireland - Checks and Compliance

• Consignments must be fully compliant with the requirements of the Official Controls Regulation to enter Northern Ireland. Further information on Official checks conducted the Points of Entry and compliance is available in the Compliance Protocol document.
• Where goods require physical inspection the driver must follow the signs to the designated inspection facilities at the port.
• If all the checks have been successful, the consignment is cleared: the decision is entered in Part 2 of the CHED, which will be provided to you, the consignee, in electronic form. Your consignment is now free to move to destination.
• Vehicles which have not been selected for physical inspection are deemed to have completed the necessary health checks and may proceed to their NI destination without delay.
• Goods which arrive in Northern Ireland but cannot be cleared due to non-compliance with import requirements will be subject to enforcement procedures. The consignments will not be permitted to enter Northern Ireland.

Moving POAO, ABPs and other RG into NI from EU via the GB landbridge

For consignments of POAO, ABP and other RG, originating from the EU, which are only transiting through GB via landbridge, DAERA requires the import of the consignment to be pre-notified on TRACES NT, to ensure the NI Point of Entry is aware of the arrival of the consignment. Specific guidance is available at Guidance for moving Products of Animal Origin (POAO) from EU countries to NI via the GB Landbridge.

Moving POAO, ABPs and other RG into NI from Rest of the World (RoW) countries

There are different conditions for moving POAO, ABPs and RG into NI from the RoW depending on the commodity. However each consignment must enter NI via an approved Border Control Post either in NI or another EU Member State. More information is available at Introduction to importing animals and animal products.

Support Health Attestations (SHAs)

Where POAO originating in NI is intended for further export from GB to the EU, or movement back to NI, then NI to GB movements of POAO may require a Support Health Attestation (SHA) or in some cases a Support Attestation (SA). An SHA will provide the necessary sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) assurances to allow completion of the final EHC in GB. It is not required to enter GB, and should therefore only be used where there is a clear need for assurance indicated by a certifying officer in GB. Further information on SHAs is available at exporting Food Products of Animal Origin and Animal By Products to GB for later onward export to EU/NI from GB (SHA Online).

Additional information and guidance on changes to rules for POAO, ABP and other RG

• GB-NI Triangular Trade - January 2024
• Composite Products - updated guidance from Food Standards Agency (FSA)
• Further information is available in the EU Exit Q&As.
• If you cannot find the EHC you need, contact the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).
• Personal imports of POAO moving from GB-NI must comply with EU Regulations
• Get help with moving Products of Animal Origin (POAO), Animal By-Products (ABP) and other regulated goods (RG) from GB to NI via the Movement Assistance Scheme (MAS)
• Specific queries should be forwarded to: daeratradeimports@daera-ni.gov.uk
• Traces-NT Contingency (How to pre-notify DAERA when Traces is offline)