UK Offence Report

Contravention of The Avian Influenza and Influenza of Avian Origin in Mammals (England) Order 2006

the instrument as a whole of The Avian Influenza and Influenza of Avian Origin in Mammals (England) Order 2006 (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

Contravening this instrument is an offence under section

73 of the Animal Health Act 1981. The instrument itself contains no offence-creating words.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
importing or exporting without authority
Fault element
Strict liability
Burden of proof
Not determined

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.

Classifier’s reasoning: contravention offences of this kind are strict as to the breach; the fault position is governed by the parent Act and was not read from it.

What would breach the instrument as a whole?

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. Moving the goods across the border under the Avian Influenza and Influenza of Avian Origin in Mammals (England) Order 2006 without the licence the instrument requires.
  2. Holding a licence for one consignment and using it for another.
  3. Sending goods in transit through the United Kingdom, where the provision catches transit as well as import and export.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Set by another provision — the instrument states the penalty by reference to an Act or to another regulation
Maximum fine
Not determined
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

The instrument does not state a penalty itself. It sets one by reference to section 73 of the Animal Health Act 1981.

the penalty is in the parent Act, not in this instrument.

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.

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 April 2006
In force from
27 April 2006
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 transposes Council Directive 2005/94/EC on Community measures for the control of avian influenza and repealing Directive 92/40/EC (OJ No L10, 14.1.2006, p16), (“the Directive”), other than Chapter IX. Chapter IX of the Directive deals with vaccination and will be transposed by the Avian Influenza (Vaccination) (England) Regulations 2006. It is anticipated that these Regulations will come into force in June 2006. This Order also amends the Diseases of Poultry Order 2003 (S.I. 2003/1078) and the Diseases of Animals (Approved Disinfectants) Order 1978 (S.I. 1978/32). Part 1 of the Order contains introductory provisions. Part 2 sets out preventive measures to reduce the risk of the transmission of avian influenza and provides for surveillance for the disease. Part 3 of the Order and Schedule 1 to it set out measures to deal with any suspected outbreak of avian influenza at premises (other than slaughterhouses, border inspection posts and in vehicles). Measures when highly pathogenic avian influenza is confirmed on such premises are set out in Part 4 and Schedule 2. These measures may, under article 13, also be applied to premises where disease is suspected. Part 4 also provides for the declaration of protection zones, surveillance zones and restricted zones around infected premises. Measures in protection and surveillance zones are set out in Schedules 4 and 5. Measures when highly pathogenic avian influenza is confirmed at slaughterhouses, border inspection posts and in vehicles are set out in Part 5. Measures where low pathogenic avian influenza is confirmed at premises other than slaughterhouses, border inspection posts and in vehicles are set out in Part 6 and in Schedule 6. These include the declaration of low pathogenic avian influenza zones. Measures in such zones are set out in Schedule 7. Measures to reduce the risk of the spread of avian influenza viruses to pigs and other mammals are set out in Part 7. General measures applicable on suspicion or confirmation of avian influenza are set out in Part 8 and provisions on inspection and enforcement are set out in Part 9. Amendments to the Diseases of Poultry Order 2003 (S.I. 2003/1078) and the Diseases of Animals (Approved Disinfectants) Order 1978 (S.I. 1978/32) are also set out in Part 9. Failure to comply with this Order is an offence under section 73 of the Animal Health Act 1981. A full regulatory impact assessment of the effect that this Order will have on the costs of business has not yet been finalised. This Order is made in advance of the regulatory impact assessment being finalised because of the need urgently to provide powers to deal with an outbreak of avian influenza in line with the Directive. The regulatory impact assessment will be placed in the library of each House of Parliament, with a transposition note setting out how the main elements of Council Directive 2005/94/EC are transposed in this Order, as soon as possible. Copies may then be obtained from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Exotic Disease Prevention and Control Division, 1A, Page Street, London SW1P 4PQ.

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 0.55.

Basis
the penalty comes from the enabling Act rather than from this instrument
Confidence
0.55 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