The Legal Framework of Livestock Farming — Veterinary Requirements
Georgia has no separate statute on livestock farming: the sector is governed entirely by the veterinary requirements established in the Code on Food Safety, Veterinary and Plant Protection. Veterinary requirements are those prescribed to secure the protection of the life and health of animals and humans, to maintain veterinary reliability in the country, to localise and eliminate outbreaks when diseases emerge, to determine and assess the epizootic situation, to prevent animal diseases, to control products of animal origin and to safeguard animal welfare.
The Code unpacks these aims into concrete veterinary requirements: protecting the territory of the country from the intrusion, introduction and spread of agents of contagious diseases; achieving or maintaining veterinary reliability; protecting the population from zoonotic diseases; ensuring the health and welfare of animals, including companion animals; carrying out diagnostic, preventive and liquidation measures against animal diseases; certifying animals and products of animal origin; controlling such products; identifying and registering animals; and ensuring that veterinary preparations conform to the requirements of Georgian legislation.
Operator Obligations in Breeding and Handling Animals
A business operator engaged in the breeding, driving, transport, sale or slaughter of animals must carry out measures against contagious diseases — preventive and liquidation measures, including vaccination, diagnostic examinations and treatment. Slaughter carried out with the aim of placing the resulting product of animal origin on the market must take place under veterinary supervision. The operator must also follow the instructions of the Agency, cooperate with the competent authorities, ensure the welfare of animals including companion animals, and conduct driving, transport and sale according to the rules established by Georgian legislation.
The duty to inform deserves particular attention: the Agency must be notified immediately of cases of contagious diseases and of mass poisoning of animals. The movement of an infected or diseased animal, or of an animal suspected of being infected or diseased, is prohibited. These obligations extend to family production subjects as well, so a small household farm operates under the same veterinary standards as a large enterprise.