UK Offence Report

Prohibition of administration to animals of unlicensed substances or products

regulation 6(1) of The Animals and Animal Products (Examination for Residues and Maximum Residue Limits) Regulations 1997

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

1 If any person contravenes the prohibition in Article

14 of the Council Regulation on the administration to food-producing animals of veterinary medicinal products containing pharmaco logically active substances which are not mentioned in Annexes I, II or III of the Council Regulation he 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
contravening a requirement of the instrument
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; other provisions of the same instrument use a mens rea word while this one does not (the Cundy v Le Cocq contrast).

What would breach regulation 6(1)?

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 the thing the provision prohibits under the Animals and Animal Products (Examination for Residues and Maximum Residue Limits) Regulations 1997, whatever the reason for doing it.
  2. Where the requirement is a positive duty, letting the time for performing it pass without performing it.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
£5,000
Standard scale
Level 5
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

this is the level 5 value when the instrument came into force (1997-08-11); the standard scale is keyed to the date the offence was committed, and for conduct today the same words mean an unlimited fine.

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 July 1997
In force from
11 August 1997
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 re-enact provisions formerly contained in the Animals, Meat and Meat Products (Examination for Residues and Maximum Residue Limits) Regulations 1991, the Medicines (Stilbenes and Thyrostatic Substances) Regulations 1982, the Medicines (Hormone Growth Promoters) (Prohibition of Use) Regulations 1988 and the Animals and Fresh Meat (Hormonal Substances) Regulations 1988. The Regulations implement Council Directive 96/22/EC (OJ No. L125, 23.5.96, p.3) concerning the prohibition on the use in stockfarming of certain substances having a hormonal or thyrostatic action and of beta-agonists, and repealing Directives 81/602/EEC, 88/146/EEC and 88/299/EEC. The Regulations also implement Council Directive 96/23/EC (OJ No. L125, 23.5.96, p.10) on measures to monitor certain substances and residues thereof in live animals and animal products and repealing Directives 85/358/EEC and 86/469/EEC and Decisions 89/187/EEC and 91/664/EEC and provide for the enforcement and execution of the prohibition in Articles 5 and 14 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2377/90 (OJ No. L224, 18.8.90, p.1). The prohibition on administration of “unlicensed products” in regulation 6, as read with the definition of such products in regulation 2(1), gives effect to the judgement in the Case C-297, Dominique Bruyere and Others v. Belgium, in so far as that judgement relates to the administration of veterinary medicinal products to animals within the meaning of Directives 96/22/EC and 96/23/EC. The Regulations— a prohibit the sale, possession or administration to animals of specified unauthorised substances (regulations 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7); b prohibit the possession, slaughter or processing the meat of, animals intended for human consumption which contain, or which have been administered with, specified unauthorised substances (regulation 8); c prohibit the sale or supply for slaughter of animals if the appropriate withdrawal period has not expired and prohibit supply for slaughter or, subject to exceptions, the sale, of animals or the sale of animal products which contain unauthorised substances or an excess of authorised substances (regulations 9 and 10); d prohibit, subject to an exception, the disposal for human or animal consumption of slaughtered animals containing specified unauthorised substances (regulations 11 and 12); e empower authorised officers to inspect and examine animals and to take samples and provide for the analysis of official samples (regulations 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22); f provide for offences and penalties and for enforcement by each enforcement authority as defined in regulation 2(1) (regulation 23); g provide specific defences (regulations 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 and 29); h deny to processors a due diligence defence in specified circumstances (regulations 30 and 31); i specify requirements relating to the keeping of records and provide for the suspension or revocation of manufacturers' licences (regulations 32 and 33); j apply, with some modifications, provisions of the Food Safety Act 1990 including the defence of due diligence (regulation 34); and k amend and revoke other legislation (regulations 35 and 36 and Schedule 2). A Compliance Cost Assessment in relation to these Regulations has been placed in the libraries of both Houses of Parliament and copies can be obtained from the Residues Surveillance Branch of the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, Woodham Lane, New Haw, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 3NB.

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