Determination of health status and free herd certification

(1) The Authority may declare Belize or a zone or district within Belize as free from bovine brucellosis where that zone , district or Belize complies with the following requirements– (a) bovine brucellosis or any suspicion thereof has been notified in accordance with Regulation 4; (b) the cattle population of the zone, district or Belize, is under official veterinary control and it has been ascertained that the rate of bovine brucellosis infection does not exceed 0.1% of the herds in the country, district or zone under consideration; (c) the serological tests for bovine brucellosis are periodically conducted in each herd, with or without the ring test; (d) no animal has been vaccinated against bovine brucellosis in the last three years immediately preceding the year of intended declaration; (e) all reactors are slaughtered; (f) animals introduced into Belize or zone shall only come from herds officially free from bovine brucellosis or from herds free from provided that this condition may be waived for animals which have not been vaccinated and which, prior to entry into the herd, were isolated and were subjected to the serological tests for bovine brucellosis with negative results on two occasions, with an interval of 30 days between each test. (2) The Authority may decide on the system for further control of cattle that has qualified as officially free from bovine brucellosis and where no reactor has been found in the last five years of declaration pursuant to subregulation (1).