Obligation on operators at the quarantine establishment following the entry into the Union of consignments of captive birds
Article 60
Operators of the quarantine establishment for the captive birds referred to in Article 59 shall: (a) keep captive birds quarantined for a period of at least 30 days; (b) where sentinel birds are used for examination, sampling and testing procedures, ensure that: (i) a minimum number of 10 sentinel birds are used in each unit of the quarantine establishment; (ii) they are at least 3 weeks old and used only once for those purposes; (iii) they are either leg-banded for identification purposes or identified with another non-removable means of identification; (iv) they are unvaccinated and have been found sero-negative for highly pathogenic avian influenza and infection with Newcastle disease virus within a period of 14 days prior to the date of commencement of quarantine; (v) they are placed in the approved quarantine establishment before the arrival of the captive birds in the common air space and as close as possible to the captive birds so that close contact between the sentinel birds and the excrements of the captive birds in quarantine is ensured; (vi) release the captive birds from quarantine only on the written authorisation of an official veterinarian.