Contravention of Invasive Alien Species Regulation

regulation 14AA(1)(b) of The Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2019

Status not determined
Strict liability
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

b the activity which constitutes that contravention does not constitute an offence under section 14, 14ZC or 14A.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 14AA(1)(b)?

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 Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2019.

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.

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: 31 October 2019
In force from: Not determined
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

These Regulations primarily amend the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (“the 1981 Act”) to further implement Regulation (EU) No 1143/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the prevention and management of the introduction and spread of invasive alien species (“the Invasive Alien Species Regulations”). These Regulations extend to Scotland. Regulation 2(2) inserts section 14AA into the 1981 Act, making it an offence for a person to contravene Article 7(1)(b) to (h) of the Invasive Alien Species Regulations (where the activity does not constitute an offence under sections 14, 14ZC or 14A of the 1981 Act). Regulation 2(3) amends section 14C of the 1981 Act to extend the information that may be included in a code of practice made by the Scottish Ministers under that section. The information may now include which species, sub-species or lower taxons of animal, plant, fungus or micro-organism are considered to be invasive alien species. A code of practice may also include information on best practice for keeping an invasive alien species in a contained holding, best practice for measures to ensure that an invasive alien species cannot reproduce or escape, and the circumstances in which an invasive alien species is considered to be a companion animal. Regulation 2(7) amends section 21 of the 1981 Act to make provision for penalties in respect of which a person, who commits an offence under section 14AA, section 19ZC (as amended by regulation 2(5)), or section 19ZD (as amended by regulation 2(6)), is liable. Regulation 2(8) inserts schedule 9B into the 1981 Act. The schedule contains provision about defences to a charge of committing an offence under section 14AA, or section 14ZC or 14A where the activity to which the charge relates contravenes Article 7(1) of the Invasive Alien Species Regulations. Schedule 9B also contains provision restricting the granting of a licence under section 16(4)(c) of the 1981 Act (as amended by regulation 2(4)). Regulation 3 amends the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994 to correct an error.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

Other offences in the same instrument

Contravention of Invasive Alien Species Regulationregulation 14AA
Contravention of Invasive Alien Species Regulationregulation 14AA(1)
After section 14A (prohibition on sale etc. of invasive animals or plants) insert— Contravention of Invasive…regulation 2(2)

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 0.88.

Basis: the provision says the conduct “is an offence”; the provision says the conduct “constitutes an offence”
Confidence: 0.88 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 Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2019 Every offence this instrument creates, and its explanatory note
Dogs, animals, hunting and wildlifeOther offences on the same subject
Offences created in 2019