UK Offence Report

Brain stem sampling of bovine animals (approved sampling sites)

paragraph 3 of SCHEDULE 2 of The Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (Wales) Regulations 2018

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

3 The occupier of an approved sampling site to which an animal that must be tested for BSE has been sent in accordance with paragraph 1 must— a take a sample comprising the brain stem for testing in accordance with Chapter C of Annex X; b ensure that the animal (or all parts of it) from which the sample has been taken can be identified; c arrange for the sample to be delivered to an approved testing laboratory; and d retain the body of the animal pending test results and dispose of it in accordance with Part I of Chapter A of Annex III, and failure to do so is 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
a person
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 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 paragraph 3 of SCHEDULE 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. Not doing what the provision requires under the Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (Wales) Regulations 2018, by the time it requires it to be done.
  2. 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
4 September 2018
In force from
1 October 2018
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, which apply in relation to Wales, revoke and remake with amendments the Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (Wales) Regulations 2008 (S.I. 2008/3154 (W. 282)). These Regulations continue to enforce Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (OJ No L 147, 31.5.2001, p. 1) (“the EU TSE Regulation”). Part 1 of the Regulations provides that the Welsh Ministers are the competent authority for the purposes of the EU TSE Regulation, except in Schedule 7 where the competent authority is the Food Standards Agency (regulation 3). Animals kept for the purposes of research (and to which the EU TSE Regulation do not apply) must be disposed of in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down health rules as regards animal by-products and derived products not intended for human consumption (OJ No L 300, 14.11.2009, p. 1) (regulation 4). The provisions in Part 2 identify the TSE controls that are subject to enforcement under these Regulations and introduce Schedules 2 to 8. Part 3 deals with administration and enforcement. Regulations 7 to 11 deal with approvals, authorisations, licences and registrations, occupiers’ duties, suspension, amendment and revocations of approvals etc., and an appeals procedure. Regulation 12 deals with valuations. Regulations 13 to 15 give powers to the Welsh Ministers, the local authority and the Food Standards Agency to appoint inspectors, and deal with powers of entry and powers of inspectors. Regulation 16 provides for a notice procedure, regulation 17 provides for service of notices and regulation 18 provides for licences permitting movement during a movement restriction. Regulations 19 to 21 deal with, penalties and offences. Regulation 22 details who is responsible for enforcing these Regulations. Regulation 23 contains some consequential amendments. Regulation 24 deals with revocations. Regulation 25 contains transitional provisions. Schedule 1 sets out the TSE requirements. Schedule 2 sets out the requirements for monitoring for TSE and the approval of laboratories and provides for compensation. Schedule 3 deals with control and eradication of TSEs in bovine animals and for those purposes makes provision for the payment of compensation by Welsh Ministers for bovine animals. Schedule 4 deals with control and eradication of TSEs in sheep and goats and for those purposes makes provision for the payment of compensation by Welsh Ministers for sheep and goats. Schedule 5 deals with control and eradication of TSEs in animals that are not bovine, ovine or caprine and for those purposes makes provision for the payment of compensation by Welsh Ministers. Schedule 6 deals with feedingstuffs. Part 1 covers restrictions on feeding protein to animals and provides for the payment of compensation by Welsh Ministers for the slaughter of animals which have had access to unlawful feedingstuffs. Part 2 deals with controls on the production of protein and feedingstuffs. Schedule 7 covers specified risk material, mechanically separated meat and slaughtering techniques. The Food Standards Agency is appointed as the competent authority for the purposes of this Schedule. Schedule 8 deals with the export of live bovine animals and products derived from them to other Member States and to third countries. The Welsh Ministers’ Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to these Regulations. As a result, a Regulatory Impact Assessment has been prepared as to the likely costs and benefits of complying with these Regulations. 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 0.88.

Basis
the provision says the conduct “is an offence”; the provision says an offence is committed “if” something happens
Confidence
0.88 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