Protest

Beste leden van de NBvV.

Hieronder ziet u de reactie van de NBvV op een voornemen van de EU om een administratieve beperking op te leggen voor iedereen die o.a. kippen, kwartels, duiven en andere grondvogels in bezit heeft. COM NL heeft ook een protest laten, net als andere bonden in binnen en buitenland. De protestbrief is tot stand gekomen in samenwerking met KleindierNed en de EE. Ook COM is op de hoogte en zal zeker haar stem laten horen.
Wanneer de EU niet luistert zullen deze kwekers hun dieren moeten registreren, elk dier apart. Een administratieve last die vast niet gratis zal zijn en natuurlijk bitter weinig bijdraagt aan het voorkomen van dierziekten, zoals vogelgriep. De Nederlandse overheid, maar ook een aantal Nederlandse Europarlementariërs steunen ons hierin en vragen nadrukkelijk om onze stem te laten horen, voor 20 mei. Wij roepen dan ook alle leden op om ook individueel een protest te laten horen. Dit kan door op de volgende link te klikken.

http://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/initiatives/isc-2021-11813_en

Bergen op Zoom, 13 mei 2022

Feedback Nederlandse Bond van Vogelliefhebbers to draft Implementing Regulation
Regarding the registration obligations of article 86(1) and article96 (3) of the AHR (2016/429).
In Article 3 of this draft the types of establishments that may be exempted by the Member States from the registration requirements are defined.

The Nederlandse Bond van Vogelliefhebbers, or Dutch Birdbreeders Association, is the largest husbandry organization for lovers of cage and aviary birds in the Netherlands. Founded in 1933 – with its registered office in Bergen op Zoom.
Currently over 20 000 members.
Affiliated bird associations: 460 – spread over 12 districts.
So we present our arguments against the registration requirements for all establishments who are keeping birds (cage and aviary birds, poultry, pigeons, quails).
The proposed exemptions in Article 3 (d) and (e) are not a realistic exemption in the practice of keeping birds for hobby.
In the Nederlandse Bond van Vogelliefhebbers are at least more than 20.000 keepers of birds for hobby.
In general these premises have no more than 6-50 birds.
These birds come and leave the establishment from and to other hobby premises. There is no connection between premises for hobby and the commercial poultry establishments.

These hobby establishments form no risk is spreading animal diseases.
No basis in the AHR for these strict obligations
In the context of privacy legislation there has to be a basis to collect personal data.
The basis laid down the AHR is prevention and control of spreading of transmissible animal diseases.
Regulations need to be proportional to the risks of spreading animal diseases.
There need to be sufficient reasons for processing personal data of millions inhabitants of the EU.

We argue that these registration obligations for millions of hobby premises keeping birds are not proportional to the risk they form in spreading animal diseases.
The AHR focuses on the control and prevention of transmissible animal diseases and on animal health.
The European rules as they applied until 21-4-2021 for hobby animal (pet farm) owners of birds were sufficient to prevent the spread of animal diseases.
The 2 most important infectious diseases for birds are highly pathogenic influenza (HPAI) and Newcastle disease (NCD). HPAI is mainly spread by wild birds.
It has been demonstrated that this is sufficient to prevent spread of NCD.
A new registration obligation adds nothing to the control and prevention of transmissible animal diseases.
As a result, the registration obligation is not proportional and there is no support for this new rule.
Capacity of the competent Authority
The EC now imposes for the first time a registration obligation for millions of EU residents (keepers of a few chickens, ducklings, pigeons, etc.) who previously did not have this obligation.
Most residents do not see the necessity of this rule and will not be active in keeping track. This means that an expensive system will be set up that will not turn out to be even close to up-to-date.
We have already submitted these arguments in March 2019 during the public consultation. It seizes capacity of the competent authority to control this rule and it results in the illegal keeping of animals.
There is also a risk that member states differ in the way they implement and control this new regulation.
CITES, IUCN and Convention on Biodiversity
The hobby fanciers are committed to the conservation of rare breeds and species.
The new rules in the AHR hinder the small-scale breeding of these birds.
This group of breeders will be very much bothered by the newly imposed measures because they are already very well organized within alliances from where they obtain their rings etcetera.
At these alliances, registration of breeders and individual animals takes already place.
This extra registration is another addition to all the other measures that already have been introduced in the past and further complicates the hobby.
All these measures together make it too difficult for an (older) person to comprehend everything.
Further, it will take too much time and it can become too expensive.
Note that there is already a shrinking number of people who are concerned about the preservation of the biodiversity of these bird species and the number will only decrease further due to extra rules.
This will result in more irritations and, as a result, these people will stop with their hobby because the pleasure is lost.
Alternative regulation obligations
The solution must be sought in the number of birds that may be kept without registration. Then, each Member State is free to take their own measures, as described in Article 3(2). Member States will then be able to introduce country-specific rules that are in line with the national practice of keeping hobby animals and the risk of the spread of animal diseases in their country.
A number of up to 250 adult birds is a good starting point.

Chairman
Dhr. Klaas Snijder

Nederlandse Bond van Vogelliefhebbers