Eartags missing at a slaughterhouse

regulation 7(4) of The Cattle Identification Regulations 1998

Status not determined
Strict liability
Agriculture, plant health, food production and rural affairs

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

4 If any person slaughters an animal contrary to the provisions of this regulation the operator of the slaughterhouse 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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: an operator
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 an operator 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 7(4)?

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 Cattle Identification Regulations 1998.

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.
Health and safety offences, corporate manslaughter and food safety and hygiene offences: definitive guideline Magistrates' courts and the Crown Court in England and Wales · in force from 1 February 2016
Covers breaches of duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the regulations made under it, and food safety and food hygiene offences. Sentencing turns on culpability and on the seriousness and likelihood of harm risked, not only on the harm that happened.
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: 19 March 1998
In force from: 15 April 1998
Extent: E+W+S

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 make provision for the administration and enforcement in Great Britain of— Title 1 of Council Regulation (EC) 820/97 establishing a system for the identification and registration of bovine animals and regarding the labelling of beef and beef products (OJ No. L117, 7.5.97, p. 1) Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2628/97 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No. 820/97 as regards transitional provisions for the start-up period of the system for the identification and registration of bovine animals (OJ No. L354, 30.12.97, p. 17) Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2629/97 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No. 820/97 as regards eartag, holding registers and passports in the framework of the system for the identification and registration of bovine animals (OJ No. L354, 30.12.97, p. 19). Part II of the Regulations deals with eartags. The Regulations provide for the enforcement of Article 4 of Council Regulations (EC) No. 820/97 relating to double eartagging of cattle (regulation 3). They specify the form of eartag to be used (regulation 4), prohibit movement from a holding of an animal which is not properly tagged (regulation 5) and make provision for the removal and replacement of eartags (regulation 6). They provide for missing eartags at a slaughterhouse (regulation 7) and tagging in the case of intra-Community trade and imports from third countries (regulations 8 and 9). They create an offence of altering an eartag (regulation 10) and contain transitional provisions (regulation 11). Part III of the Regulations deals with cattle passports for animals born or imported on or after the coming into force of these Regulations. The Regulations provide for the enforcement of the provision of Council Regulation (EC) No. 820/97 relating to movement of cattle without a cattle passport. Regulation 13 makes provision for application for cattle passports, and regulations 14 and 15 make it an offence to move cattle without a cattle passport. The Regulations make provision for cattle brought into Great Britain from outside the European Union, from Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, and other member States (regulations 16 and 17). They provide for completion of a cattle passport when the animal is moved (regulation 18) and make provision for markets and slaughterhouses (regulations 19 and 20). They require the retention of cattle passports once granted (regulation 21) and make provision for lost cattle passports (regulation 22), change of eartag numbers (regulation 23) and fees for replacement cattle passports (regulation 24). Regulations 25 to 27 deal with the return of cattle passports when animals are exported to third countries, or die, or are slaughtered. Regulation 28 makes it an offence to alter or deface a cattle passport. Part IV of the Regulations deals with records. Regulation 29 and Schedule 2 enforce Article 7 of Council Regulation (EC) No. 820/97, which relates to keeping a register, provision of information and production and retention of the register. It also provides for time limits for entry in a register, and (at regulation 29(4)) makes additional provisions for markets. Part V deals with powers of inspectors and penalties. Breach of regulation 32 (obstruction) is punishable by a fine of level 5 on the standard scale or three months imprisonment for obstruction. For other offences the penalty is on summary conviction, a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or imprisonment not exceed three months, or both; on conviction on indictment, a fine or imprisonment not exceeding two years or to both. The Regulations are enforced by the local authority, the Minister for Agriculture or the Secretary of State (regulation 35). The following regulations are revoked by regulation 36 and Schedule 3— The Bovine Animals (Records, Identification and Movement) Order 1995 (in part) The Cattle Passport Order 1996 The Cattle Passport (Fees) Order 1996 The Cattle Identification (Enforcement) Regulations 1997 A regulatory appraisal has been prepared and placed in the library of each House of Parliament. Copies can be obtained from the Animal Health (Disease Control) Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Government Buildings, Hook Rise South, Tolworth, Surbiton, Surrey KT6 7NF.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

What Parliament said

Mentions of this instrument in Hansard. Parliamentary material is reused under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.

Ways and Means — Financial Statement Commons · 16 March 2005 · Rob Marris
I will not, I am afraid, because I have limited time. We need to consider whether we should do more for the public sector and public services. The fact is, the economy is stable and strong, and there is spending and investment in the public sector. We are catching up on 18 years of under-investment, yet the Government are spending, and have been spending, less as a proportion of GDP than was spent for most of the…
Cattle and Eggs Regulations 2006 Commons · 15 June 2006 · The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (David Miliband)
The Cattle Identification (Amendment) Regulations 2006, the Cattle Database (Amendment) Regulations 2006 and the Eggs (Marketing Standards) (Amendment) (England and Wales) Regulations 2006 were laid before Parliament yesterday and entered into force today, 15 June 2006. These are technical amendments to the Cattle Identification Regulations 1998, the Cattle Database Regulations 1998, and the Eggs (Marketing…

Other offences in the same instrument

Alteration and storage of eartagsregulation 10(1)
Alteration and storage of eartagsregulation 10(2)
Transitional provisions relating to eartagsregulation 11(1)
Application and interpretationregulation 12(2)
Application for a cattle passportregulation 13(3)
Movement of animalsregulation 14(1)
Imported cattle and cattle from Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islandsregulation 16(1)
Imported cattle and cattle from Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islandsregulation 16(2)
Imported cattle and cattle from Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islandsregulation 16(3)
Cattle from another member Stateregulation 17(1)
Cattle from another member Stateregulation 17(2)
Completion of cattle passports when cattle are movedregulation 18(4)

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

This provision on legislation.gov.uk The authoritative text. Check it before relying on anything here.
The Cattle Identification Regulations 1998 Every offence this instrument creates, and its explanatory note
Agriculture, plant health, food production and rural affairsOther offences on the same subject
Offences created in 1998