European Regulations on Camel Germplasm Movement within the European Union: A Current Framework Based on Safety.

Abstract

Simple SummaryDelegated Regulation (EU) 2020/686 (hereafter Reg. 686) regulates the traceability and animal health for the movement of germinal material of camels within the EU. Given that the camel breeding industry is in a strong phase of growth, an amount of germinal material of terrestrial animals—including those belonging to the Camelidae family—is moved between the member states. The authors performed an analysis of Reg. 686 addressing veterinarians and breeders who want to sell high-quality germinal material or genetically improve their herds.With the aim of developing livestock breeding, the Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/686 (hereafter referred to as Reg. 686) has taken steps to define traceability and animal health for the movement of germ material within the European Union (EU), including that of camelid species. Despite the economic importance of the camel market and the efforts of the EU to regulate their movements, there are considerable difficulties in the collection of semen and its freezing, limiting the use of artificial insemination in this species. If, on the one hand, there is little diffusion of the camel breeding and, consequently, limited diffusion of animals and germplasm, there will probably be a significant increase over the years. To avoid the spread of emerging diseases—or even those no longer present in Europe—the entry of genetic material from non-EU countries must be strictly monitored. Camels are rarely clinically compliant, but can transfer even fatal diseases to domestic ungulate farms in the EU. Based on these considerations, we conducted a narrative review of the European regulations on this issue, focusing on aspects related to their application in camels.