UK Offence Report

6 It is an offence against the Act for a person— a to take into captivity, harbour, conceal or otherwise…

article 6 of The Tuberculosis Eradication (Wales) Order 2009

The provision has been revoked and no saving provision preserving liability for earlier conduct was found.

What the provision says

6 It is an offence against the Act for

a person—

a to take into captivity, harbour, conceal or otherwise protect wild members of the badger species with intent to prevent their destruction or their being treated with vaccine;

b in any other way to obstruct or interfere with anything which has been, is being or is to be done or used in connection with that destruction or their being treated with vaccine; or

c to aid, abet, counsel or procure another person to commit such an act.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove both that the conduct happened and that it was done with the state of mind the provision names (with intent to).

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

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: with intent to.

What would breach article 6?

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. Refusing to let an inspector onto premises they are entitled to enter under the Tuberculosis Eradication (Wales) Order 2009.
  2. Sending an official away, or telling staff to say nothing, where the power being exercised does not depend on anyone's consent.
  3. Physically blocking an examination, or removing something an officer has said they intend to inspect.

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
Revoked
Revoked by
The Badger (Control Area) (Wales) Order 2011 (revoked)
Revoked on
31 March 2011
Made
28 September 2009
In force from
21 October 2009
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 note is not part of the Order) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

The Welsh Ministers are satisfied that tuberculosis exists in the wild badger population in Wales; that the disease has been or is being transmitted from badgers to cattle in Wales and that the destruction of wild badgers in Wales is necessary in order to eliminate or substantially reduce the incidence of tuberculosis in animals of any kind in Wales. The Order provides that the destruction of badgers must be accomplished by trapping and either shooting or giving a lethal injection, or by shooting without trapping. The carcase of a badger so destroyed is the property of the Welsh Ministers and may not be removed without their authority. The Order provides that the authorised officer may treat badgers with vaccine for the purpose of preventing the spread of tuberculosis. The Order provides that the authorised officer may enter premises, except a dwelling house, and do other things as are necessary or required in connection with vaccinating or destroying badgers. The Order provides that it is an offence against the Act for a person — a to take into captivity, harbour, conceal or otherwise protect wild members of the badger species with intent to prevent their destruction or their being treated with vaccine; or b in any other way to obstruct or interfere with anything which has been, is being or is to be done or used in connection with that destruction or their being treated with vaccine; or c to aid, abet, counsel or procure another person to commit such an act.

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