UK Offence Report

Amendment of regulation 7 (offences)

regulation 6(2) of The Welfare of Farmed Animals (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2010

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

2 After paragraph (1) (as so renumbered) add–

2 A food business operator who, without lawful authority or excuse, fails to comply with

a duty in paragraph 14(2) of Schedule 5A, commits an offence. .

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
an food business operator
Conduct
failing to do something the instrument requires
Fault element
Strict liability
Burden of proof
An element of the offence, for the prosecution to prove

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 an food business operator 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.

“Without reasonable excuse” here is an element of the offence rather than a defence, so its absence is for the prosecution to prove (R v Charles [2009] EWCA Crim 1570).

Classifier’s reasoning: no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence in the offence or its provision; qualified by lawful excuse (an element).

The defence, as drafted

(1) (as so renumbered) add– 2 A food business operator who, without lawful authority or excuse, fails to comply with a duty in paragraph 14(2) of Schedule 5A, commits an offence. .

What would breach regulation 6(2)?

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 an offence is committed where an food business operator fails to comply with a duty in paragraph 14(2) of Schedule 5A.
  2. Not doing what the provision requires under the Welfare of Farmed Animals (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2010, 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 here: this instrument amends another one, and the penalty for the offence is in the instrument being amended.

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
9 November 2010
In force from
Not determined
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 Regulations) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

These Regulations amend the Welfare of Farmed Animals (Wales) Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/3070 (W.264)) to implement Council Directive 2007/43/EC laying down minimum rules for the protection of chickens kept for meat production (OJ No L 182, 12.7.07, p.19). The amendments to the Welfare of Farmed Animals (Wales) Regulations 2007 are as follows. Regulation 2 (definitions and interpretation provision) is amended, including the insertion of definitions of “conventionally reared meat chicken” (which covers chickens kept for meat production, except for those on holdings with fewer than 500 chickens or with only breeding stocks, which are on hatcheries, or which are barn-reared, free range or organically-produced), “food business operator” and “stocking density” (regulation 3). Regulation 5 (additional duties on persons responsible) is amended to provide that persons responsible for conventionally reared meat chickens are required to comply with Part 2 of a new Schedule 5A (regulation 4). A new regulation 5A is added which gives effect to Part 3 of the new Schedule 5A (regulation 5). Failure to comply with the requirements of Part 2 of Schedule 5A is an offence, and regulation 7 (offences) is amended to provide for an offence in relation to breach of paragraph 14(2) of Schedule 5A (regulation 6). Schedule 1 (general conditions under which farmed animals must be kept) is amended to include provisions relating to conventionally reared meat chickens (regulation 7). A Schedule 5A is added, which sets out additional conditions that relate to conventionally reared meat chickens (regulation 8). A regulatory impact assessment of the effect of this instrument on the costs of business has been prepared and is available from the Welsh Assembly Government, 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 0.92.

Basis
the provision says a person “commits an offence”
Confidence
0.92 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