Aug. 8.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 2467

HORSES (IMPORTATION AND TRANSIT) ORDER OF 1912:

The Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, by virtue and in exercise of the powers vested in them under the Diseases of Animals Acts, 1894 to 1911, and of every other power enabling them in this behalf, do order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows :—

CHAPTER I.—IMPORTATION.

Commencement of Chapter I.

1. This Chapter shall come into operation on the first day of January, nineteen hundred and thirteen.

Regulation of Importation of Horses, Asses, and Mules.

2. (1.) A horse, ass, or mule brought to Great Britain from any other country, except Ireland, the Channel Islands, or the Isle of Man, shall not be landed in Great Britain otherwise than—

(a.) Under the authority of a license granted by the Board, and subject to any conditions imposed by the license; or

(b.) Under and in accordance with the conditions imposed by Article 4 of this Order.

(2.) A license shall not be available as an authority for the landing of a horse, ass, or mule unless the animal is accompanied by a certificate of a veterinary surgeon to the effect that he examined the animal immediately before it was embarked, or while it was on board the vessel, as the case may be, and that he found that the animal did not show symptoms of disease.

Licenses for Landing.

3. Where the Board grant a license authorizing the landing of a horse, ass, or mule, the Board may impose and insert in the license such conditions as they may think necessary—

(a.) For prescribing and regulating the detention and isolation of the animal;

(b.) For prescribing and regulating the veterinary examination of the animal (including the application of the mallein test) and the person by whom the examination shall be made;

(c.) For regulating the movement of the animal from the place of landing to the prescribed place of detention; and

(d.) Generally for the better execution of this Chapter or preventing the spreading of disease by the animal.

Conditions where Landing is not Licensed.

4. Where the landing of a horse, ass, or mule is not authorized by a license granted by the Board, its landing shall be subject to the following conditions, namely :—

(a.) The landing must be authorized in writing by an Officer of Customs and Excise, and be at a port which has been authorized by Order of the Board as a port for landing of imported horses, asses, and mules;

(b.) The animal shall on landing at any such port be moved by the owner or person in charge thereof direct to a place of detention provided by the Local Authority for horses, asses, and mules imported at such port, or to a place of detention otherwise provided and approved for such purpose by the Local Authority;

(c.) The animal shall be detained at the place of detention by the owner or person in charge thereof until it is released by a permit granted by an Inspector of the Local Authority;

(d.) The permit shall not be granted until the animal has been examined by a Veterinary Inspector of the Local Authority and found by him to be free from symptoms of disease;

(e.) In every case, except where the animal shows clinical symptoms which are definite evidence of glanders, the animal shall be tested by a Veterinary Inspector of the Local Authority with mallein, which may be applied at such time not later than ten days after the arrival of the animal at the place of detention as the Veterinary Inspector may think fit;

(f.) Where in the opinion of the Veterinary Inspector the original application of the test results in indications of glanders not amounting to definite evidence of glanders, the test shall be applied a second time, not later than twelve days after the previous application; and if the second application does not result in definite evidence of glanders, the animal shall for the purposes of this Order be treated as free from symptoms of glanders.

Cleansing and Disinfection.

5. The Local Authority or the person by whom a place of detention is provided shall cause the part of the place of detention used by a horse, ass, or mule to be thoroughly cleansed and disinfected in such manner as the Local Authority think fit, before it is again used for the reception of a horse, ass, or mule.

Charges for Use of Place of Detention.

6. The Local Authority may under section 32 of the Act of 1894 charge for the use of a place of detention provided by the Local Authority such sums as may be imposed by by-law.

Provision as to Diseased or Suspected Horses, &c.

7. Any horse, ass, or mule in a place of detention which is affected with, or suspected of, disease, and which is not required to be slaughtered under the Order (if any) dealing with the particular disease, may be moved with the written permission of an Inspector of the Local Authority to a vessel in the port for exportation.

General Power of Detention.

8. If it appears to the Principal Officer of Customs and Excise, with respect to any foreign horse, ass, or mule, or with respect to any carcase of a foreign horse, ass, or mule that disease may be thereby introduced, he may seize and detain the same; and he shall forthwith report the facts to the Commissioners of Customs and Excise, who may give such directions as they think fit, either for the slaughter or destruction or the further detention thereof or for the delivery thereof to the owner on such conditions, if any (including payment by the owner of expenses incurred by them in respect of detention thereof), as they think fit.

Meaning of “Disease” and “Local Authority.”

9. In this Chapter the expression “disease” means glanders (including farcy), epizootic lymphangitis, ulcerative lymphangitis, dourine, horse-pox, sarcoptic mange, psoroptic mange, influenza, ringworm, or strangles, and the expression “Local Authority” means the Local Authority of the port of landing for the purpose of the provisions of the Act of 1894 relating to foreign animals.

Effect of Chapter on Existing Orders.

10. Any Order of the Board which deals with any of the above-mentioned diseases shall, in relation to a horse, ass, or mule detained under this Chapter, be modified by the terms of this Chapter.

CHAPTER II.—CARRIAGE BY WATER.

Provisions as to Vessels carrying Horses, &c.

13. The provisions of this Article shall apply to all vessels on which horses, asses, or mules are carried to or from any port in Great Britain.

(Fittings of Vessels.)

(i.) Each horse, ass, or mule shall be carried in a separate box or stall, except that brood mares, ponies, asses, mules, and unbroken horses, and horses in charge of special attendants, may be carried in pens. Boxes, stalls, and pens shall be of sufficient size, and shall be so constructed as to be of a substantial character, and of sufficient strength to withstand the action of the weather and to resist the weight of any animal that may be thrown against them. A moveable box shall be so secured as to prevent its displacement by the motion of the vessel.

(ii.) The floor of each box, stall, or pen shall, in order to prevent slipping, be fitted with suitable battens, and be strewn with a proper quantity of sand or other suitable substance.

(iii.) The vessel shall be provided with sufficient and suitable means for slinging the animals carried.

(iv.) The fittings or other parts of a vessel, box, stall, or pen likely to cause injury or unnecessary suffering to horses, asses, or mules shall be properly and securely fenced off or padded, as the case may require.

(v.) Horses, asses, and mules while on a vessel shall be protected against injury or unnecessary suffering from undue exposure to the weather.

(Ventilation.)

(vi.) All parts of the vessel in or on which horses, asses, or mules are carried shall be sufficiently and suitably ventilated. All such parts if below deck shall, in addition to any ventilation obtained by means of the hatchways, be provided with sufficient and suitable ventilators