French Public Health Code
In forceI.-The following offences are punishable by two years' imprisonment and a fine of 150,000 euros:
1° Any person prescribing veterinary medicinal products or medicated feedstuffs to animals for which they do not personally provide care or whose health surveillance and regular monitoring are not entrusted to them, or without writing a prescription in the cases and in accordance with the procedures set out in articles L. 5143-5 and L. 5143-6, or without complying with the prescription restrictions laid down in application of 18° of article L. 5141-16. 5143-6, or without complying with the restrictions on prescribing laid down pursuant to article L. 5141-16, 18°;
2° For the persons and groups mentioned in articles L. 5143-2 and L. 5143-6, dispensing medicinal products or medicated foodstuffs in breach of the obligations laid down in articles L. 5143-2, L. 5143-5 and L. 5143-6 and the restrictions laid down pursuant to article L. 5141-16, 18°; 3° For the persons and groups mentioned in articles L. 5143-2 and L. 5143-6, dispensing medicinal products or medicated foodstuffs in breach of the obligations laid down in articles L. 5143-2, L. 5143-5 and L. 5143-6 and the restrictions laid down pursuant to article L. 5141-16, 18°. 5141-16;
3° The fact of a professional animal owner or keeper acting to circumvent the obligations defined in articles L. 5143-2, L. 5143-5 and L. 5143-6 and the restrictions imposed pursuant to 18° of article L. 5141-16, with a view to obtaining supplies of veterinary medicinal products or medicated feedingstuffs;
4° The fact of persons authorised to prescribe or supply veterinary medicinal products or medicated feedingstuffs forming an agreement with a view to obtaining advantages, of any kind whatsoever, to the detriment of the keeper of the animals or third parties or to the detriment of human or animal health;
5° Manufacturing, importing, exporting, transporting, offering, transferring, acquiring, holding, using in an illicit manner or having issued, by means of fictitious prescriptions or prescriptions of convenience, veterinary medicinal products as referred to in article L. 5143-5 ;
6° Systematically administering or using antimicrobial medicinal products or medicated feed containing them to compensate for poor hygiene, inappropriate rearing conditions or a lack of care, or to compensate for poor farm management in disregard of paragraph 1 of Article 107 of Regulation (EU) 2019/6 of 11 December 2018 on veterinary medicinal products and paragraph 3 of Article 17 of Regulation (EU) 2019/4 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the manufacture, placing on the market and use of medicated feed ;
7° Using antimicrobial medicinal products or medicated feed containing them to promote growth or increase yield in animals in disregard of Article 107(2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/6 of 11 December 2018 and Article 17(3) of Regulation (EU) 2019/4 of 11 December 2018;
8° Failure to comply with the provisions relating to the period of validity of the prescription for antimicrobial medicinal products, provided for in paragraph 10 of Article 105 of Regulation (EU) 2019/6 of 11 December 2018, or for medicated feedingstuffs containing antimicrobial veterinary medicinal products, provided for in paragraph 8 of Article 16 of Regulation (EU) 2019/4 of 11 December 2018;
9° For a veterinarian established in another Member State to hold, prescribe, supply or administer veterinary medicinal products without complying with the conditions provided for in Article 111 of Regulation (EU) 2019/6 of 11 December 2018, Article L. 5141-15 and the regulatory provisions adopted for their application;
10° Any person prescribing, supplying or using, for animals intended for food production, medicinal products or medicated feedingstuffs:
a) Whose pharmacologically active substances:
-are not authorised to be administered to them, pursuant to paragraph 4 of Article 113 or paragraph 6 of Article 114 of Regulation (EU) 2019/6 of 11 December 2018;
-and, in the case of equidae not excluded from human consumption, are not included in the list of substances which are essential for the treatment of equidae, provided for in paragraph 5 of Article 115 of Regulation (EU) 2019/6 of 11 December 2018 ;
b) Without complying with the withdrawal times:
-fixed by the marketing authorisation for the medicinal product;
-or provided for by Article 115 of Regulation (EU) 2019/6 of 11 December 2018, in the event of use outside the terms of that authorisation.
Penalties are increased to five years' imprisonment and a fine of 750,000 euros when the offences provided for in this I:
1° Are committed in an organised gang;
2° Encourage the misuse or abuse of veterinary medicinal products;
3° Concern veterinary medicinal products containing substances classified as psychotropic.
II.-It is punishable by five years' imprisonment and a fine of €375,000 for any person to fail to comply with the conditions for importing, manufacturing, acquiring, holding, issuing, selling or transferring free of charge the substances mentioned in Article L. 5144-1, provided for by Articles 94 and 95 of Regulation (EU) 2019/6 of 11 December 2018 or set pursuant to Articles L. 5144-1 to L. 5144-3.
The penalties are increased to seven years' imprisonment and a fine of €750,000 when:
1° The offences provided for in the first paragraph of this II have been committed by manufacturers, importers, distributors of the substances mentioned in Article L. 5144-1, health professionals as defined in Part Four of this Code or veterinary surgeons;
2° These same offences have been committed as part of an organised gang;
3° The offences of selling or transferring free of charge as set out in the first paragraph of this II have been committed over a telecommunications network intended for a non-specified public.
III.-Attempted commission of the offences referred to in I and II of this article is punishable by the same penalties.
IV.For the criminal offences referred to in this article, natural persons are also liable to the following additional penalties:
1° Display or dissemination of the decision handed down, in accordance with the conditions set out in article 131-35 of the French Penal Code;
2° Temporary or permanent disqualification from exercising one or more professions governed by this Code, from exercising a commercial or industrial profession, from directing, administering, managing or controlling in any capacity whatsoever, directly or indirectly, for their own account or for the account of another, a commercial or industrial business or a commercial company or any other professional or social activity in the exercise of which the offence was committed, in accordance with the terms of article 131-27 of the same Code;
3° Confiscation of the thing that was used or intended to be used to commit the offence or the thing that is the object or product of the offence, pursuant to article 131-21 of the same code.
V.-Legal entities held criminally liable, under the conditions set out in article 121-2 of the Criminal Code, for the offences defined in this chapter shall incur, in addition to the fine set out in article 131-38 of the Criminal Code, the penalties set out in 2° to 9° of article 131-39 of the same Code.
