Contravention of The Disease Control (Interim Measures) (Scotland) Order 2002

the instrument as a whole of The Disease Control (Interim Measures) (Scotland) Order 2002

Status not determined
Strict liability
Set by another provision
Dogs, animals, hunting and wildlife

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

Contravening this instrument is an offence under section
73 of the Animal Health Act 1981. The instrument itself contains no offence-creating words.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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: breaching the provision
Fault element: Strict liability
Burden of proof: Not determined

The prosecution must prove that the conduct happened. This is a strict liability offence as drafted: the provision uses no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence, so there is no need to show that a person meant to do it, knew about it, or was careless.

Intention, knowledge and carelessness are irrelevant to guilt. They may still matter a great deal to sentence.

Classifier’s reasoning: contravention offences of this kind are strict as to the breach; the fault position is governed by the parent Act and was not read from it.

What would breach the instrument as a whole?

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.

Doing what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the Disease Control (Interim Measures) (Scotland) Order 2002.

Penalty

Mode of trial: Set by another provision — the instrument states the penalty by reference to an Act or to another regulation
Maximum fine: Not determined
Maximum prison (summary): Not determined

The instrument does not state a penalty itself. It sets one by reference to section 73 of the Animal Health Act 1981.

the penalty is in the parent Act, not in this instrument.

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.

Animal cruelty: definitive guideline Magistrates' courts in England and Wales · in force from 1 July 2017
Covers cruelty to and neglect of animals, and the associated disqualification and deprivation orders.
Reduction in sentence for a guilty plea: definitive guideline All courts in England and Wales · in force from 1 June 2017
The sliding scale of credit for pleading guilty, from one third at the first stage of proceedings downwards.
General guideline: overarching principles All courts in England and Wales · in force from 1 October 2019
The guideline a court uses when there is no offence-specific guideline, which is the position for the overwhelming majority of offences created by statutory instrument. It sets out how culpability and harm are assessed from first principles.
Totality: definitive guideline All courts in England and Wales
How to sentence more than one offence at once so that the total is just and proportionate - frequently in point here, because regulatory prosecutions commonly charge several breaches of the same instrument.

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: 1 February 2002
In force from: 18 February 2002
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 Order, which extends to Scotland only, principally imposes restrictions on the movement of cattle, sheep, goats and other ruminating animals, swine and elephants in Scotland. It requires that any such movement from premises must be permitted by a specific or general licence issued by the Scottish Ministers and further requires that no animal was moved onto those premises during the period of 20 days before such movement (article 3), except where movements are exempted from that requirement under articles 3(2), 4 and 5. The Order also requires that market premises should not be used for that purpose except in compliance with the requirements in Schedule 2 (article 6). Shows or exhibitions must be notified to the Divisional Veterinary Manager prior to the holding of a show or exhibition, and in the conduct of those shows or exhibitions reasonable steps must be taken to comply with any guidance issued by the Divisional Veterinary Manager (article 7). It requires that licences must be produced on demand to a constable or inspector or officer of the Scottish Ministers or the local authority, provides that the Scottish Ministers may vary, suspend or revoke licences at any time, and provides that the Scottish Minister shall review at the request of the person aggrieved, such a variation, suspension or revocation (article 8). The Order provides for officers of the Scottish Ministers and inspectors of the local authorities to take steps as may be necessary to deal with animals where the owners have not complied with this Order and to recover the expenses of taking those steps from those who have not so complied (article 9). The Order shall be enforced by the local authority, unless the Scottish Ministers so direct, and the Scottish Ministers may direct joint enforcement (article 10). It amends the Pigs (Records, Identification and Movement) Order 1995 to specify the from of identification to be used in the case of a movement of a pig to a show or for breeding purposes, reduces the period within which the person in charge of a collecting centre must notify pig movements to the local authority to 3 days, alters the declarations contained in Schedules to that Order to require a similar period and requires the local authority to intimate pig movements to the Scottish Ministers (article 11). A breach of the terms of this Order or of a licence issued thereunder constitutes an offence under the Animal Health Act 1981. A Regulatory Impact Assessment has not been prepared for this Order.

Read the full note and every offence in this 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 0.55.

Basis: the penalty comes from the enabling Act rather than from this instrument
Confidence: 0.55 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

This provision on legislation.gov.uk The authoritative text. Check it before relying on anything here.
The Disease Control (Interim Measures) (Scotland) Order 2002 Every offence this instrument creates, and its explanatory note
Dogs, animals, hunting and wildlifeOther offences on the same subject
Offences created in 2002