20 Any person who, without lawful authority or excuse, proof of which shall lie on him— a defaces,…

article 20 of The Welfare of Animals at Markets Order 1990

• Status not determined
• Requires proof of a state of mind
• TV licensing, fare evasion and school attendance

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

20 Any person who, without lawful authority or excuse, proof of which shall lie on him— a defaces, obliterates or removes any mark applied to an animal in pursuance of article 18; or b makes a declaration or statement for the purposes of this Order which he knows to be false in a material particular, or, for those purposes, recklessly makes a declaration or statement which is false in a material particular; or c contravenes any provision of this Order or any provision of an approval issued under it; or d fails to comply with any such provision or with any condition of any such approval; or e knowingly causes or permits any such contravention or non-compliance, commits an offence against the Act.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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

making a false or misleading statement

Fault element

Requires proof of a state of mind

Burden of proof

An element of the offence, for the prosecution to prove

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

“Without reasonable excuse” here is an element of the offence rather than a defence, so its absence is for the prosecution to prove (R v Charles [2009] EWCA Crim 1570).

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: knowingly, recklessly; qualified by lawful excuse (an element).

The defence, as drafted

20 Any person who, without lawful authority or excuse, proof of which shall lie on him— a defaces, obliterates or removes any mark applied to an animal in pursuance of article 18; or b makes a declaration or statement for the purposes of this Order which he knows to be false in a material particular, or, for tho

What would breach article 20?

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. Entering a figure on a form or return that is known to be wrong under the Welfare of Animals at Markets Order 1990.
2. Leaving out something the form asks for, where the omission is what makes the answer misleading.
3. Producing a document to an official that has been altered since it was issued.

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.

• Sentencing children and young people: definitive guideline Youth courts and all courts sentencing those under 18 · in force from 1 June 2017

  Applies whenever the defendant is under 18, whatever the offence.

• 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

27 December 1990

In force from

1 March 1991

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 Order) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

This Order makes provision for the welfare of animals in markets. In a market it is an offence to permit an unfit animal to be exposed for sale (article 5), to cause or permit any injury or unnecessary suffering to an animal (article 6), to handle or tie animals in a particular way (article 7), to use excessive force to control an animal (the use of sticks and goads is also restricted) (article 8) or knowingly to obstruct an animal or wantonly annoy an animal (article 9). The market operator must ensure that animals are properly penned and caged (article 10), adequately provided with lighting and bedding (article 12), and that there is accommodation for unfit animals (article 16). Duties are placed on the owner (or his duly authorised agent) or the person in charge of the animal to ensure that it is adequately fed and watered (article 11). It is the duty of the market authority to provide covered accommodation (article 13) and other facilities (article 15) including ramps for the purpose of loading and unloading animals out of a vehicle (article 19). There are specified restrictions on the sale of calves (article 14). Provision is made for the detention and treatment of unfit animals (article 17), for an inspector to mark, or cause to be marked, an animal for identification purposes (article 18)and for offences (article 20). The Markets (Protection of Animals) Order 1964, as amended, and other miscellaneous provisions concerned with the protection of animals and poultry are revoked (article 23).

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 0.92.

Basis

the provision says a person “commits 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

• This provision on legislation.gov.uk The authoritative text. Check it before relying on anything here.
• The Welfare of Animals at Markets Order 1990 Every offence this instrument creates, and its explanatory note
• TV licensing, fare evasion and school attendanceOther offences on the same subject
• Offences created in 1990