ec regulation no. 1099 2009 in june 2010 india raised concerns about ec regulation no. 1099 2009 dated 24 september 2009 regarding the humane treatment of animals at the time of slaughter which was to enter into force on 1 january 2013. under article 12 of the regulation the import of meat from third countries must be supplemented by a health certificate indicating that requirements at least equivalent to those established in chapters ii and iii of the regulation had been met. according to india this specific regulation had not been notified by the european union despite being a trade-restricting measure. india sought clarification on the justification for this regulation and for animal welfare requirements that may not fall under the sps agreement. india also inquired about i how equivalence may be assessed including details of the certification process and ii how eu experts would ensure that animals were slaughtered in humane conditions and received clearance from the european union. china supported the concerns raised by india and noted that it would continue to follow the issue. the european union reported that the regulation would enter into force on 1 january 2013 and was based on two publicly available scientific opinions which had been forwarded to the indian authorities. the european union clarified that regulations regarding animal welfare conditions at the time of stunning and slaughter had been in place since 1993 and that regulation no. 1099 2009 re-addressed the issues but did not impose new requirements. the european union believed that the measures were not more restrictive than necessary and that the regulation recognized the principle of equivalence. the system had proved to be effective over a 15 years time period and other countries had developed similar legislation based on the oie code and consistent with international standards. nevertheless the european union would ensure continued cooperation among experts to address any concerns before the legislation entered into force in 2013. the oie clarified that if the measures were to control animal health including ante- and post-mortem inspections then they were relevant to sps. although animal welfare was not a sps-related issue oie members had adopted a resolution in 2004 for oie to undertake further work on animal welfare issues and oie members had the opportunity to comment on those standards particularly through the animal welfare working group. in october 2010 india expressed concern that the eu regulation contained animal welfare requirements that would be trade restrictive and as the slaughter of animals was a sanitary issue this measure should be notified to the wto. although the regulation was based on oie standards only those oie standards that had the objective to control animal health including ante- and post- mortem inspections fell within the scope of the sps agreement. the new regulation introduced animal welfare requirements beyond those that had been in place since 1993 and therefore the european union should notify the regulation to the wto and give members time to submit comments. india asked how trade issues would be linked with animal welfare issues how equivalence of measures would be assessed whether the provisions of article 12 of the eu regulation were in line with any wto agreements and whether article 5 of the regulation would require that all establishments exporting meat receive a prior clearance from the european union. viet nam noted that it shared indias concerns in particular relating to fishery products. the european union indicated that the regulation was based on scientific findings in particular two scientific opinions by the european food safety authority in 2004 and 2006. these scientific opinions were publicly available and had been provided to india. as a major importer of meat products and as a result of consumer preferences the european union required that certain animal welfare con