UK Offence Report

Receipt of animals from another member State

article 32(2) of The Sheep and Goats (Records, Identification and Movement) (Wales) Order 2015

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 It is an offence to remove or replace the original method of identification of an animal originating in another member State in contravention of Article 4(5) of the Council Regulation.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
contravening a requirement of the instrument
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 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.

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 32(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 it is an offence to remove or replace the original method of identification of an animal originating in another member State in contravention of Article 4(5) of the Council Regulation.
  2. Doing the thing the provision prohibits under the Sheep and Goats (Records, Identification and Movement) (Wales) Order 2015, whatever the reason for doing it.
  3. Where the requirement is a positive duty, letting the time for performing it pass without performing it.

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
8 December 2015
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 Order) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

This Order revokes and replaces the Sheep and Goats (Records, Identification and Movement) (Wales) Order 2009 (S.I. 2009/3364 (W. 296)) (“the 2009 Order”). It makes provision for the administration and enforcement in Wales 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). Part 2 provides that identification devices used to comply with this Order must be of a type approved by the Welsh Ministers and sets out some general provisions in relation to the application of identification devices. Part 3 provides for the means of identification of sheep and goats, including the requirement that a sheep intended for slaughter before the age of 12 months must be identified with an electronic eartag. If sheep intended for slaughter before the age of 12 months were identified before 1 January 2016 with a non-electronic eartag then this need not be replaced with an electronic eartag until 30 June 2017. Part 4 makes provision for the removal or replacement of identification marks on animals identified under Part 3. Part 5 makes provision for the identification of goats not identified under Part 3. Part 6 makes provision for the replacement of identification marks on all animals identified before 1 January 2016 and on goats identified in accordance with Part 5. 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 requires operators of central points of recording to report movements of animals electronically and allows other keepers to do so. Part 9 sets out the requirement for keepers to keep an annual inventory and supply information to the Welsh Ministers about their holding 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. It exempts markets and slaughterhouses from the need to re-identify animals with missing identification marks, and provides for arrangements to be agreed to allow central points of recording not to record electronically in the event of a power or equipment failure. Part 11 makes provision for the identification requirements of animals brought into Wales from other member States, other parts of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and from third countries. Part 12 contains miscellaneous and enforcement provisions including the requirements relating to animals which are to be exported. Article 37 sets out a defence to the failure to identify an animal correctly in the case of emergency veterinary treatment. Article 38 confers various powers on inspectors and article 39 enables inspectors to prohibit the movement of a flock of sheep or a herd of goats to or from a holding. Articles 40 and 41 relate to the provision of false or misleading information and the alteration of identification marks. Article 42 relates to offences committed by bodies corporate and article 43 relates to offences committed by partnerships and unincorporated associations. The Order is enforced by the local authority or the Welsh Ministers if so directed (article 44). 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. The Welsh Ministers’ Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to this Order. As a result, a Regulatory Impact Assessment has been prepared as to the likely costs and benefits of complying with this Order. A copy can be obtained from the Welsh Government, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF10 3NQ.

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