UK Offence Report

Powers of entry

regulation 12(2) of Welfare of Farmed Animals Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000 (revoked)

This offence was read from the text as made, and no revised version was available, so a later revocation could not be ruled out. Check the current text at legislation.gov.uk.

What the provision says

2 A person who wilfully obstructs or delays an authorised officer in the exercise of his powers of entry in accordance with paragraph (1) shall be guilty of an offence.

Text as made, from legislation.gov.uk. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.

Who it binds, and what has to be proved

Binds
a person
Conduct
obstructing an official exercising a power
Fault element
Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove both that the conduct happened and that it was done with the state of mind the provision names (wilfully).

The provision states no defence, so the prosecution bears the burden on every element of the offence.

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: wilfully.

What would breach regulation 12(2)?

These are illustrations, not law. They are generated from the provision’s own words to show the shape of the offence. Whether any particular conduct is caught depends on the full text, on any amendment since, and on the facts.

  1. On these words an offence is committed where a person wilfully obstructs or delays an authorised officer in the exercise of his powers of entry in accordance with paragraph (1).
  2. Refusing to let an inspector onto premises they are entitled to enter under the Welfare of Farmed Animals Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000.
  3. Sending an official away, or telling staff to say nothing, where the power being exercised does not depend on anyone's consent.
  4. Physically blocking an examination, or removing something an officer has said they intend to inspect.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Not determined
Maximum fine
Not determined
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

no penalty is stated in this instrument; it may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence.

No penalty was determined from this instrument. It may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence. Absence of a figure here is not evidence that the offence carries no penalty.

Sentencing

Offences of this kind are usually sentenced under the guidelines below. This is a mapping by subject, not a finding about this provision, and the links go to a search of the Sentencing Council’s own site.

Prosecution figures

No published per-offence figure was found for this provision, and it could not be matched to a Ministry of Justice offence code. Offences created by statutory instrument very largely do not have one. Absence of a figure is not evidence that the offence is unused.

Status and lifecycle

Current status
Status not determined
Made
18 September 2000
In force from
16 October 2000
Extent
Not stated

How this was established: read from the text as made; no revised version available, so later revocation could not be ruled out.

What the instrument is for

(This note is not part of the Regulations.) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

These Regulations revoke and replace with amendments the Welfare of Livestock Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995 and the Welfare of Livestock (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998. They implement as respects Northern Ireland— Council Directive 88/166/EEC laying down minimum standards for the protection of laying hens kept in battery cages (O.J. No. L74, 19.3.88, p. 83); Council Directive 91/629/EEC laying down minimum standards for the protection of calves (O.J. No. L340, 11.12.91, p. 28), as amended by Council Directive 97/2/EC (O.J. No. L25, 28.1.97, p. 24) and Commission Decision 97/182/EC (O.J. No. L76, 24.2.97, p. 30); Council Directive 91/630/EEC laying down minimum standards for the protection of pigs (O.J. No. L340, 11.12.91, p. 33); and Council Directive 98/58/EC concerning the protection of animals kept for farming purposes (O.J. No. L221, 8.8.98, p. 23). The Regulations (and the Community legislation which they implement) reflect the obligations contained in the European Convention for the Protection of Animals kept for Farming Purposes of 10th March 1976, as read with the Protocol of Amendment to the European Convention for the Protection of Animals kept for Farming Purposes of 6th February 1992 (both may be purchased from the Stationery Office Bookshop, 16 Arthur Street, Belfast BT1 4GD). The Regulations apply to all animals kept for farming purposes (subject to certain limited exceptions) (regulation 2(4)). Regulation 3(1) lays down the general principle that owners and keepers of animals kept for farming purposes must take reasonable steps to ensure the welfare of animals in their care and to prevent them any unnecessary pain, suffering or injury. This principle applies to all animals (including fish, reptiles and amphibians). The Regulations also provide for general requirements which apply in the case of all farmed animals (other than fish, reptiles and amphibians) (regulation 3(2) and Schedule 1) and for sets of specific additional requirements which apply in the cases of laying hens (regulation 4 and Schedule 2), poultry other than laying hens (regulation 5 and Schedule 3), calves (regulation 6 and Schedule 4), cattle (regulation 7 and Schedule 5), pigs (regulation 8 and Schedule 6) and rabbits (regulation 9 and Schedule 7). Regulation 10 contains provision to ensure that those in charge of animals have access to copies of the relevant statutory welfare codes and are acquainted with those codes. Regulation 11 provides for the service of enforcement notices requiring action to be taken to deal with any breach of the Regulations and regulation 12 provides for a power of entry for persons authorised by the European Commission for the purpose of enforcing Community legislation. Under regulation 13(1), any contravention of the Regulations is an offence against section 2(1) of the Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 1972. A person guilty of an offence under that section is liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale (currently, £2,500) or both. Regulation 14 contains provision for the Department to issue or amend Statutory welfare codes to ensure compliance on the part of owners and keepers of animals with the requirements of the relevant Community legislation.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

Other offences in the same instrument

How this was identified as an offence

Everything above rests on the judgement that this provision creates a criminal offence, rather than mentioning one. That judgement is made by rule, from the words of the provision, and this is the rule that made it — with a confidence of 0.92.

Basis
the provision says a person is “guilty of an offence”
Confidence
0.92 of 1.00

A provision that states a penalty for an offence created elsewhere can read very like one that creates an offence, and the rules can mistake the one for the other. If the text quoted above sets a penalty for something made an offence by another provision, treat the classification on this page with that in mind, and read the instrument.

Check the source