UK Offence Report

1 It shall be an offence for any person to fail to comply with— a regulation 8(5) (failure by a carrier to…

regulation 16(1) of The Non Commercial Movement of Pet Animals (England) Regulations 2004 (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

1 It shall be an offence for any person to fail to comply with—

a regulation 8(5) (failure by

a carrier to comply with the terms and conditions of its approval);

b regulation 10 (duties on carriers);

c regulation 11 (duties at the port of arrival);

d regulation 12(2) (failure by

a veterinarian or

a person importing animals under three months old to comply with the terms and conditions of their approval);

e regulation 14 (obstruction);

f regulation 15 (falsification of documents).

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
obstructing an official exercising a power
Fault element
Mixed — some elements strict, some not
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove the conduct, and - for those elements the provision qualifies (intentionally) - the state of mind it names. The remaining elements carry no fault requirement, so they are strict.

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

Classifier’s reasoning: the offence itself carries no fault word, but a duty it criminalises by cross-reference uses intentionally; which element that governs was not determined.

What would breach regulation 16(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. On these words it is an offence to fail to comply with— a regulation 8(5) (failure by a carrier to comply with the terms and conditions of its approval).
  2. Refusing to let an inspector onto premises they are entitled to enter under the Non Commercial Movement of Pet Animals (England) Regulations 2004.
  3. Sending an official away, or telling staff to say nothing, where the power being exercised does not depend on anyone's consent.
  4. Physically blocking an examination, or removing something an officer has said they intend to inspect.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
£5,000
Standard scale
Level 5
Maximum prison (summary)
6 months

this is the level 5 value when the instrument came into force (2004-10-01); 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
8 September 2004
In force from
1 October 2004
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 make provision in England for the administration and enforcement of Regulation (EC) No 998/2003 of the European Parliament and the Council of 26 May 2003 on the animal health requirements applicable to the non-commercial movement of pet animals and amending Council Directive 92/65/EEC (OJ No. L 146, 13.6.2003, p1, as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 592/2004, OJ No. L 94, 31.3.2004, p7) (“the Community Regulation”). They revoke and replace the Pet Travel Scheme (Pilot Arrangements) (England) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/3443) and the existing amendments to that Order (these are listed in Schedule 2). Consequential amendment to the Rabies (Importation of Dogs, Cats and Other Mammals) Order 1974 is made by the Rabies (Importation of Dogs, Cats and Other Mammals) (England) (Amendment) Order 2004 which comes into force simultaneously with these Regulations. The Regulations create, in limited circumstances, an exemption from the requirement for pet animals covered by the Community Regulation to be imported under licence and placed in quarantine under the Rabies (Importation of Dogs, Cats and Other Mammals) Order 1974 (S.I. 1974/2211, as amended) on import into England. The Regulations do not extend to Wales or Scotland, but if an animal has been brought into England in accordance with these Regulations, it can then be taken from England into Wales or Scotland. Regulation 5 excludes three categories of animal from the exemption. Regulation 5(a) excepts animals covered by article 12(b) of the Community Regulation. This exclusion extends to pet animals from certain third countries arriving in groups of more than five. Regulation 5(b) excludes animals whose import is prohibited by Commission Decision 2003/459/EC on certain protection measures with regard to monkey pox virus (OJ No. L 154, 21.6.2003, p112). This exclusion extends to prairie dogs from the USA. Regulation 5(c)excludes animals whose import is prohibited by Commission Decision 1999/507/EC (OJ No. L 194, 27.7.1999, p66, as last amended by Commission Decision 2000/708/EC, OJ No. L 289, 16.11.2000, p41) on certain protection measures with regard to certain fruit bats, dogs and cats coming from Malaysia (Peninsula) and Australia. This exclusion extends to cats from Australia unless they are accompanied by a certificate relating to freedom from Hendra virus. The Regulations provide for retention of the requirement in the Pet Travel Scheme (Pilot Arrangements) (England) Order 1999 that animals are identified by microchip rather than tattoo (regulation 6). Regulation 7 sets out the waiting period before entry to England laid down in the national rules in force on 3rd July 2004 which is referred to in article 6 of the Community Regulation. On that date, a waiting period of six months from the date of a blood test was laid down in article 6(2) of the Pet Travel Scheme (Pilot Arrangements) (England) Order 1999. In addition to the anti-rabies preparation required by the Community Regulation, the Regulations require dogs, cats and ferrets to be treated against Echinococcus multilocularis and ticks before entering England (regulation 9). The Regulations require that dogs, cats and ferrets entering England under the Community Regulation are transported by a carrier approved by the Secretary of State on a specified route (regulation 8 and Schedule 1). Carrier approvals granted under the Pet Travel Scheme (Pilot Arrangements) (England) Order 1999 continue to be valid (regulation 21). Carriers are under a duty to check that the correct documentation accompanies every dog, cat and ferret and that it shows compliance with the Community Regulation and the Regulations (regulation 10). The Regulations also impose duties on passengers bringing dogs, cats and ferrets into England under the Community Regulation to make their documentation and animals available for checking (regulation 11) and give powers to officers of the Secretary of State and the local authority to stop vehicles and carry out searches (regulation 13). The Regulations make transitional provision to allow dogs and cats accompanied by health certificates issued under the Pet Travel Scheme (Pilot Arrangements) (England) Order 1999 to enter England using those certificates (regulation 20). The Regulations prohibit obstruction of persons acting in their execution (regulation 14) and falsification of documents (regulation 15). Offences under the Regulations are listed in regulation 16; commission of these offences is punishable on summary conviction by imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, currently £5,000 (regulation 17). The Regulations make amendments to the Animal and Animal Products (Import and Export) Regulations 2004 (S.I. 2004/853) consequent on the Community Regulation. No Regulatory Impact Assessment has been prepared in respect of these Regulations.

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 0.90.

Basis
the provision says “it is an offence”; the provision says an offence is committed “if” something happens
Confidence
0.90 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