Contravention of The Animal Gatherings (England) Order 2006

the instrument as a whole of The Animal Gatherings (England) Order 2006

Revoked
Strict liability
Set by another provision
Dogs, animals, hunting and wildlife

The provision has been revoked and no saving provision preserving liability for earlier conduct was found.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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

Doing what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the Animal Gatherings (England) Order 2006.

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.

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.
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: Revoked
Revoked by: The Animal Gatherings Order 2010
Revoked on: 18 March 2010
Made: 9 August 2006
In force from: 31 August 2006
Extent: Not stated

How this was established: the instrument was revoked by a later instrument found in this corpus.

What the instrument is for

This Order revokes and re-enacts, with amendments, the Animal Gatherings (England) Order 2004 (S.I. 2004/1202). The amendments are as follows. First, where a series of animal gatherings that are held on premises with a paved animal area last no longer than 48 hours in total, those gatherings will be treated as one animal gathering (article 7(6)). Secondly, article 8 provides that a licensee may apply to the Secretary of State to allow sheep at a sheep autumn breeding sale to have access to areas outside the paved animal area and for permission to hold further animal gatherings within 27 days of that sheep autumn breeding sale. Thirdly, paragraph 1(2) of the Schedule requires the licensee to provide facilities for removing mud, excreta and other contaminants from animals from footwear, in addition to providing footbaths. Paragraph 3 of the Schedule requires any person leaving the animal area to use those facilities before using the footbath containing approved disinfectant. Fourthly, paragraph 2(1) of the Schedule provides that no person may enter licensed premises with outer clothing or footwear that is visibly contaminated with mud, in addition to animal excreta or any other animal contaminant specified in the 2004 Order. Article 4 provides that this Order does not apply if all the animals brought to an animal gathering are owned by the same person and come from premises authorised as a sole occupancy group under the Disease Control (England) Order 2003 (S.I. 2003/1729) and if the gathering takes place on premises owned or occupied by the owner of the animals. Article 5 requires a licence for animal gatherings. Article 6 specifies that an animal gathering can only take place 27 days or more after the last animal left those premises and those premises and equipment on the premises has been cleaned of visible contamination. If the gathering takes place on paved premises, article 7 makes provision for the cleansing and disinfection of those premises and enables a gathering to take place inside the normal time limits. Article 9 imposes a 48 hour time limit on animal gatherings for the purpose of sale on paved premises and sheep autumn breeding sales and onward consignments on any premises. Article 12 and the Schedule impose duties on persons attending an animal gathering. Article 13 imposes restrictions following an animal gathering. Article 14 deals with enforcement. Breach of the Order is an offence under section 73 of the Animal Health Act 1981, punishable in accordance with section 75 of that Act. A regulatory impact assessment has been prepared and placed in the library of each house of Parliament. Copies can be obtained from Exotic Disease Prevention and Control Division, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 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

This provision on legislation.gov.uk The authoritative text. Check it before relying on anything here.
The Animal Gatherings (England) Order 2006 Every offence this instrument creates, and its explanatory note
Dogs, animals, hunting and wildlifeOther offences on the same subject
Offences created in 2006