UK Offence Report

Identification of animals imported from third countries

article 31(1) of The Sheep and Goats (Records, Identification and Movement) (England) Order 2009

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 is an offence for

a keeper to fail to comply with Article 4(4) of the Council Regulation and this article.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 keeper
Conduct
failing to do something the instrument requires
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 keeper 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 article 31(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 Article 4(4) of the Council Regulation and this article.
  2. Not doing what the provision requires under the Sheep and Goats (Records, Identification and Movement) (England) Order 2009, by the time it requires it to be done.
  3. Doing it, but not in the manner or to the standard the instrument specifies.

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.

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
2 December 2009
In force from
31 December 2009
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 makes provision for the administration and enforcement in England of Council Regulation (EC) No. 21/2004 (establishing a system for the identification and registration of ovine and caprine animals and amending Regulation (EC) No. 1782/2003 and Directives 92/102/EEC and 64/432/EEC). It revokes and replaces the Sheep and Goats (Records, Identification and Movement) (England) Order 2007, S.I. 2007/3493. Part 2 provides that identification devices used to comply with this Order must be of a type approved by the Secretary of State and sets out some general provisions in relation to the application of identification devices. Part 3 of the Order requires the application of two means of identification, including one electronic device, to an animal identified or imported on or after 31st December 2009. It provides for animals that are not intended for export and intended for slaughter within 12 months of birth to be identified with a single identification tag (article 10). Part 4 makes provisions for the removal or replacement of identification marks on animals identified under Part 3. Part 5 makes provisions for the identification of goats not identified under Part 3. Part 6 makes provisions for the replacement of identification marks on animals identified before 31 December 2009 and on goats. Part 7 makes provision for every keeper to keep an up-to-date holding register, setting out the information which must be entered in the register and when. Part 8 makes provision for a movement document to accompany every animal when it moves between holdings (article 22) and specifies when and to whom the document must be supplied (article 23). Part 9 sets out the requirement for keepers to keep an annual inventory (article 24) and supply information to the Secretary of State about their holding (article 25) and the time limits for doing so. Part 10 provides for the allocation of lot numbers to animals at a market and prohibits the buying or selling of animals unless all animals from a lot are bought or sold (article 26). It exempts markets from the need to re-identify animals with missing identification marks (article 27) and provides for arrangements to be agreed to allow markets to continue to operate in the event of a power or equipment failure (article 28). Part 11 makes provision for the identification requirements of animals brought into England from other member States, other parts of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and from third countries (articles 29 and 30). Part 12 contains miscellaneous and enforcement provisions including the requirements relating to animals which are to be exported. Article 34 sets out a defence to the failure to identify an animal correctly in the case of emergency veterinary treatment. Article 35 confers various powers on inspectors and article 36 enables inspectors to prohibit the movement of a flock of sheep or a herd of goats to or from a holding. Articles 37 and 38 relate to the provision of false or misleading information and the alteration of identification marks. Article 39 relates to offences committed by bodies corporate and article 40 relates to offences committed by partnerships and unincorporated associations. The Order is enforced by the local authority or the Secretary of State if so directed (article 41). 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. An Impact Assessment has been prepared and placed in the library of each House of Parliament. Copies can be obtained from Terry Gurnhill, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London SW1P 3JR.

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 0.90.

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