Veterinary Authorities should use the standards in the Terrestrial Code to set up measures providing for early detection, internal reporting, notification and control of pathogenic agents, including zoonotic pathogenic agents, in terrestrial animals (mammals, birds, bees and reptiles) and preventing their spread via international trade in animals and animal products, while avoiding unjustified sanitary barriers to trade. The standards in the Terrestrial Code have been formally adopted by the World Assembly of OIE Delegates, which constitutes the organisation’s highest decision-making body. Given the formal recognition of the OIE as the international standard-setting organisation for animal health and zoonoses by the World Trade Organization Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (WTO SPS Agreement), the Terrestrial Code is also a key part of the WTO legal framework for international trade.