Chapter IV  Livestock and Poultry Farming

Article 36 The state establishes and improves a modern livestock and poultry farming system. The competent departments of agriculture and rural affairs of people's governments at or above the county level shall, in accordance with the development plan for animal husbandry and in light of market demands, guide and support the restructuring of animal husbandry, promote the production of superior livestock and poultry breeds, and enhance the market competitiveness of livestock and poultry products.

Article 37 People's governments at all levels shall ensure that the reasonable land demand for livestock and poultry farming is met. In the spatial planning at the county level, the land use plan for livestock and poultry farming shall be made based on local conditions. Such a piece of land shall be administered as agricultural land. Where such a piece of land needs to be restored to its original use when the time period of its use for livestock and poultry breeding expires or when its user ceases to engage in livestock and poultry farming activities, the user of the land shall be responsible for such restoration. Where agricultural land needs to be converted into non-agricultural land for the construction of permanent buildings (structures) within the limits of the land used for livestock and poultry farming, the matter shall be handled in accordance with the provisions of the Land Administration Law of the People's Republic of China.

Article 38 The institutions set up by the state for popularizing animal husbandry and veterinary technologies shall provide services such as training in the technologies of livestock and poultry farming and harmless treatment and resource utilization of livestock and poultry manure, popularization of fine varieties, and epidemic prevention and treatment. People's governments at or above the county level shall guarantee the funds needed by such institutions to provide technical services of a public welfare nature.

The state encourages enterprises engaged in the processing of livestock and poultry products and other relevant producers and business operators to provide services needed by livestock and poultry farmers.

Article 39 Livestock and poultry farms shall meet the following conditions:

(1) having production premises and supporting facilities commensurate with their scale of farming;

(2) having animal husbandry and veterinary technicians in their service;

(3) meeting the conditions for epidemic prevention as provided for by laws and administrative regulations and prescribed by the competent department of agriculture and rural affairs under the State Council;

(4) having suitable facilities and equipment for the harmless treatment and resource utilization of livestock and poultry manure; and

(5) other conditions provided for by laws and administrative regulations.

The founder of a livestock or poultry farm shall submit information such as the name, address, the varieties of the livestock or poultry to be farmed as well as the farming scale to the competent department of agriculture and rural affairs under the people's government at the county level where the farm is located for record, and obtain identification codes for the livestock or poultry.

The scale standards and measures for the record administration of livestock and poultry farms shall be formulated by the competent department of agriculture and rural affairs under the State Council.

The conditions for epidemic prevention and the requirements relating to the harmless treatment and resource utilization of livestock and poultry manure shall be provided for by the competent department of agriculture and rural affairs of the people's government of a province, an autonomous region, or a municipality directly under the Central Government in conjunction with other relevant departments.

Article 40 The siting and construction of livestock or poultry farms shall comply with the spatial planning and relevant laws and regulations; no livestock or poultry farms shall be constructed in livestock and poultry farming prohibition areas in violation of laws and regulations.

Article 41 A livestock or poultry farm shall keep files on the livestock or poultry farming, in which the following shall be clearly stated:

(1) the varieties, quantity, records of breeding, identification, origins and dates of entry into and exit from the farm of livestock or poultry;

(2) the origins and names of inputs such as feed, feed additives and veterinary medicines, the animals on which the inputs are used, the time when the inputs are used and the amounts used;

(3) information on quarantine, immunization, and disinfection;

(4) diseases, deaths and harmless treatment information;

(5) the collection, storage, harmless treatment and resource utilization of livestock or poultry manure; and

(6) other matters prescribed by the competent department of agriculture and rural affairs under the State Council.

Article 42 A livestock or poultry farm shall provide the livestock or poultry farmed with suitable breeding conditions and the environment for their survival and growth.

Article 43 No livestock or poultry farmer may:

(1) use feed, feed additives or veterinary medicines in violation of laws and administrative regulations, compulsory standards of the state, and the regulations of the competent department of agriculture and rural affairs under the State Council;

(2) feed livestock with slops from restaurants or canteens that have not gone through high-temperature processing;

(3) raise livestock or poultry at garbage dumping grounds or feed them with the substances dumped at such grounds;

(4) abandon or dispose of sick or dead livestock or poultry at will; or

(5) commit any other act harmful to the health of human beings or livestock or poultry, as provided for by laws and administrative regulations, and prescribed by the competent department of agriculture and rural affairs under the State Council.

Article 44 Livestock and poultry farmers shall effectively prevent and control epidemic diseases and ensure the quality and safety of livestock and poultry in accordance with the Law of the People's Republic of China on Animal Disease Control and the Law of the People's Republic of China on Quality and Safety of Agricultural Products.

Article 45 Livestock and poultry farmers shall, in accordance with state regulations on the administration of livestock and poultry identification marks, attach such marks to the designated parts of livestock and poultry. Competent departments of agriculture and rural affairs shall not charge fees for the identification marks provided, and related expenses shall be listed in the budgets of people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government.

Forgery, alteration, or reuse of livestock and poultry identification marks shall be prohibited. It is prohibited to possess or use forged or altered identification marks of livestock and poultry.

Article 46 Livestock and poultry farms shall ensure the normal operation of facilities for the harmless treatment and resource utilization of livestock and poultry manure, and the comprehensive utilization or compliant discharge of the manure so as to prevent environmental pollution. Where environmental pollution is caused by their illegal discharge or improper management, they shall eliminate the hazards and compensate for the losses caused by the pollution in accordance with law.

The state supports the construction of facilities for the collection, storage, harmless treatment and resource utilization of livestock and poultry manure, promotes nutrient balance management of the manure, and boosts the utilization of agricultural organic fertilizer and mixed crop and livestock farming.

Article 47 The state gives guidance to livestock and poultry farmers to develop in an orderly manner in accordance with the animal husbandry development plan, strengthens the instruction and assistance for them, protects their lawful rights and interests, and prohibits the arbitrary termination of their business operation by administrative means.

The state encourages agriculture-related enterprises to give guidance to livestock and poultry farmers to integrate themselves into the modern animal husbandry industry chain, strengthens the commercial services for livestock and poultry farmers, supports livestock and poultry farmers and specialized animal husbandry cooperatives in developing large-scale and standardized production, supports the development of new industries and business forms, and promotes their integration with tourism, culture, ecology, and other industries.

Article 48 The state supports the development of specialized livestock and poultry farming. People's governments at or above the county level shall take measures to support the establishment of a farming system commensurate with the development of the specialized livestock and poultry breeding industry.

Article 49 The state encourages the development of apiculture and protects the lawful rights and interests of beekeepers.

The relevant departments shall actively disseminate and popularize the agronomic techniques of honeybee pollination.

Article 50 In the process of production, beekeepers shall not use medicines and containers harmful to the quality and safety of honeybee products so as to guarantee product quality. Containers and tools for beekeeping shall meet the national standards and the technical requirements specified by the relevant departments under the State Council.

Article 51 When beekeepers move to another place for bee keeping, the relevant local departments of public security, transportation, agriculture and rural affairs, etc. shall provide them with the necessary conveniences.

When a beekeeper moves to another place for bee keeping within China, he shall have the bee colonies transported on the strength of the uniform quarantine certificate printed by the competent department of agriculture and rural affairs under the State Council. Redundant quarantine shall not be conducted within the valid period of the quarantine certificate.

Chapter Ⅴ  Grassland Animal Husbandry

Article 52 The state supports the scientific utilization of grasslands, coordinates the protection of grasslands with the development of grassland animal husbandry, adheres to the principles of giving priority to the ecological protection and integrating the promotion of production and the ecological protection, develops industries with competitive advantages, promotes the income growth of farmers and herdsmen, improves the capacity of grasslands for sustainable development, builds a strong ecological security shield, and promotes the coordinated development of production, living and ecology in pastoral areas.

Article 53 The state supports the transformation of the development mode of grassland animal husbandry in pastoral areas and strengthens the construction of grassland water conservancy, pasture fencing, forage production, processing and storage, livestock pens, pastoral roads and other infrastructure.

The state encourages the adoption of farming methods such as stall feeding and semi-stall feeding, seasonal grazing, and rotational grazing, so as to reasonably allocate animal herds and maintain a balance between forage supply and livestock demand.

Article 54 The state supports the selective breeding, import and wide use of high-quality forage varieties, promotes artificial grassland construction, natural grassland improvement and forage base construction in light of local conditions, optimizes the plantation structure, and improves the capacity to guarantee forage supply.

Article 55 The state supports farmers and herdsmen in developing specialized animal husbandry cooperatives and modern family ranches, promotes appropriate-scale breeding, improves the standardization level of production, and builds production bases for cattle, sheep and other important livestock products.

Article 56 The competent departments of agriculture and rural affairs of people's governments at all levels in pastoral areas shall encourage and give guidance to farmers and herdsmen to improve livestock varieties, optimize the composition of livestock herds, practice scientific feeding, reasonably speed up the sales turnover of livestock, and promote the reduction of costs and improvement of quality and efficiency of grassland animal husbandry.

Article 57 The state strengthens the protection against disasters in grassland animal husbandry, includes funds for disaster prevention and mitigation in the said industry in its budget, optimizes facilities and equipment conditions, improves the insurance system for cattle, sheep and other livestock in pastoral areas, and enhances the capability to withstand natural disasters.

Article 58 The state improves the subsidy and reward policy for grassland ecological protection, and gives subsidies and rewards to farmers and herdsmen for implementing grazing exclusion and balancing forage supply and livestock demand in accordance with relevant state regulations.

Article 59 The relevant local people’s governments shall support the coordinated development of grassland animal husbandry and rural tourism, culture and other industries, promote the integration of primary, secondary and tertiary industries, improve the level of industrialization, branding and uniqueness of animal husbandry, increase the income of farmers and herdsmen, and promote the revitalization of pastoral areas.

Article 60 Where the development of grassland animal husbandry involves activities of grassland protection, construction, utilization and management, the provisions of laws and regulations on grassland protection shall be complied with.

Chapter Ⅵ  Trade in and Transportation of Livestock and Poultry

Article 61 The state accelerates the establishment of a trading market for livestock and poultry characterized by unification, openness, orderly competition, safety and convenience.

Article 62 Local people's governments at or above the county level shall, based on their development plans for wholesale markets of agricultural products, support the establishment of wholesale markets of livestock and poultry at places where livestock and poultry products are distributed and sold.

The sites selected for wholesale markets of livestock and poultry shall meet the requirements for animal epidemic prevention, as provided for by laws and administrative regulations and prescribed by the competent department of agriculture and rural affairs under the State Council, and shall be at least 3 kilometers away from the breeding livestock or poultry farms and from the large-scale livestock or poultry farms.

Article 63 The livestock and poultry to be traded shall meet the requirements of quality and safety standards for agricultural products and the technical specifications prescribed by the relevant departments under the State Council.

Livestock and poultry not bearing identification marks as required by the competent department of agriculture and rural affairs under the State Council shall not be sold or purchased.

The state encourages slaughterhouse operators of livestock and poultry to purchase livestock and poultry directly from livestock and poultry farmers and establish stable purchasing channels, so as to reduce the risk of animal epidemics as well as the risks to quality and safety.

Article 64 Transportation of livestock and poultry shall meet the requirements for animal epidemic prevention as provided for by laws and administrative regulations and prescribed by the competent department of agriculture and rural affairs under the State Council. Measures shall be taken to protect the safety of livestock and poultry and to provide them with necessary space, feed and drinking water in the course of transportation.

Inspection of livestock and poultry conducted in the course of transportation by relevant departments shall be based on laws and administrative regulations.