UK Offence Report

Amendment to The Animals and Animal Products (Import and Export) (Scotland) Regulations 2000

regulation 3(9) of The Animals and Animal Products (Import and Export) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2006 (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

9 For regulation 33 (Penalties) substitute– Penalties 33

1 A person contravening any provision of these Regulations, except those listed in paragraph (2), or any notice served under any such provision 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
breaching the provision
Fault element
Strict liability
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

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.

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

Classifier’s reasoning: no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence in the offence or its provision.

What would breach regulation 3(9)?

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. Doing what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the Animals and Animal Products (Import and Export) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2006.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
£5,000
Standard scale
Level 5
Maximum prison (summary)
3 months
Maximum prison (on indictment)
2 years

in Scotland a reference to a level is construed as referring to the standard scale as it currently stands (CP(S)A 1995 s.225(2)), not as it stood when the instrument was made.

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
7 June 2006
In force from
17 July 2006
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 amend the Animals and Animal Products (Import and Export) (Scotland) Regulations (“the principal Regulations). The Regulations implement the following Community measures– a Commission Decision 2000/666/EC laying down the animal health requirements and the veterinary certification for the import of birds, other than poultry and the conditions for quarantine (O.J. No. L 278, 31.10.00, p.26) (“the Decision”); and b Council Directive 2004/68/EC laying down animal health rules for the importation into and transit through the Community of certain live ungulate animals (O.J. No. L 139, 30.4.04, p.321 (“the Directive”)). In relation to the Decision, the principal Regulations are amended to provide for the arrangements for quarantine of captive birds imported from third countries. Specific requirements are imposed upon quarantine managers as to the running of quarantine centres and facilities. General prohibitions are applied to any persons in respect of entry into a quarantine facility or centre and removal of birds and carcases from quarantine without the authorisation of a veterinary inspector. In addition, inspectors have been given powers of entry, inspection and sampling in relation to the quarantine of captive birds. The Veterinary Laboratories Agency is designated as the official laboratory for the purposes of the Decision and there is provision for charges for laboratory testing carried out in connection with it (regulation 3(3), (13) and the Schedule)). Amendments are also made to the principal Regulations as a consequence of the implementation in these Regulations of the Decision (regulation 3(1) and (2), (4) to (6), (8), (9) and (12)(a)). There are also provisions prescribing the measures which must be taken when avian influenza, Newcastle disease or Chlamydia psittaci is found in an imported captive bird at a quarantine centre or facility (regulation 3(5)). Transitional arrangements are provided for in respect of quarantine approvals currently held by avian quarantine centres or facilities and captive bird imports generally (regulation 2(10), (13) and the Schedule) and the disapplication provisions in the principal regulations have been revised to disapply the Importation of Birds, Poultry and Hatching Eggs Order 1979 (S.I. 1979/1702) in relation to imports of captive birds from third countries (regulation 3(10) and (14)). In relation to the Directive, the relevant Schedules of the principal Regulations (Schedules 3 and 5) have been amended to include reference to it (regulation 3(11)(b) and (12)(b)(i)). Schedule 3 to the principal Regulations is also amended to update the list of instruments specifying additional requirements which must be complied with in relation to intra-community trade in poultry and hatching eggs (regulation 3(11)(a)). Amendments have also been made to the principal Regulations to include reference to the Common Veterinary Entry Document pursuant to Commission Regulation (EC) No. 282/2004 introducing a document for the declaration of, and veterinary checks on, animals from third countries entering the Community (O.J. L 49, 19.2.04, p.11) (regulation 3(1)(a),(2) and (7)). A regulatory impact assessment has not been prepared for these Regulations.

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