UK Offence Report

Contravention of The African Swine Fever (Wales) Order 2003

the instrument as a whole of The African Swine Fever (Wales) Order 2003

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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

  1. Doing what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the African Swine Fever (Wales) Order 2003.

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
13 December 2003
In force from
15 December 2003
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, which applies to Wales, implements Council Directive 2002/60/EC (OJ No. L192, 20.07.2002, p.27) revising Community measures for the control of African swine fever. It revokes and replaces the African Swine Fever Order 1980 so far as it applies to Wales. This Order— a requires any person who suspects that a pig or carcase is inspected with African swine fever (the disease) to notify the Divisional Veterinary manager and imposes restrictions on the movement of pigs or carcases or other things off the premises (article 4); b requires a veterinary inspector to serve a notice imposing the requirements set out in the notice to be complied with in circumstances where he or she suspects that the disease may exist (article 5); c permits a veterinary inspector to serve a further notice imposing additional restrictions to those required by article 5 (article 6); d where the presence of the disease is confirmed on a holding, requires a veterinary inspector to serve a notice on the occupier of the holding requiring him or her to ensure that the restrictions and requirements in article 5 and any applicable requirements of article 6 are carried out (article 7); e sets out the measures which must be taken where the disease is confirmed in a slaughterhouse, knacker’s yard or on a means of transport (article 8); f sets out the action that should be taken where it is suspected that the disease may have been transferred to or from the infected or suspected premises to or from other premises (article 9); g provides for the establishment of temporary control zones (article 10); h requires the National Assembly for Wales, on confirmation of disease, to establish an area around an outbreak site of the disease and provides for this area to be split into a protection zone and a surveillance zone (article 11 and Schedule 1); i sets out the requirements for cleansing and disinfection (article 12); j sets out the measures to be taken where the disease is suspected or confirmed in feral pigs (articles 13 & 14 and Schedule 2); k prohibits the use of the African swine fever vaccine unless the National Assembly authorises it (article 15); l gives power to an inspector to take action to ensure that the requirements of this Order are carried out where any person fails to comply with those restrictions and requirements (article 16); m provides the specifics as to the exercise of certain of the powers of veterinary inspectors and of officers of the National Assembly or the Secretary of State when an outbreak of African swine fever is suspected. The general powers are set out in sections 63 and 64A of the Animal Health Act 1981 (article 17); n provides for the enforcement of the Order (article 18). Failure to comply with this Order is an offence under section 73 of the Animal Health Act 1981. A regulatory appraisal has been prepared and placed in the Library of the National Assembly for Wales. Copies are available from the Welsh Assembly Government, Animal and Plant Health Division, Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3NQ.

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