UK Offence Report

1 It is an offence for a person, without lawful authority or excuse— a to breach a licence condition; b to…

regulation 19(1) of The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Wales) Regulations 2021

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

1 It is an offence for a person, without lawful authority or excuse— a to breach a licence condition; b to fail to comply with regulation 7 or 18.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 a condition of a licence, permit or consent
Fault element
Mixed — some elements strict, some not
Burden of proof
An element of the offence, for the prosecution to prove

The prosecution must prove the conduct, and - for those elements the provision qualifies (intentionally) - the state of mind it names. The remaining elements carry no fault requirement, so they are strict.

“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: the offence itself carries no fault word, but a duty it criminalises by cross-reference uses intentionally; which element that governs was not determined; qualified by lawful excuse (an element).

The defence, as drafted

1 It is an offence for a person, without lawful authority or excuse— a to breach a licence condition; b to fail to comply with regulation 7 or 18.

What would breach regulation 19(1)?

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. Holding a valid licence but doing the thing it allows outside the hours, place or limits its conditions set under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Wales) Regulations 2021.
  2. Failing to do something a condition positively requires - a record, a notification, a monitoring step - even though the licensed activity itself is carried on properly.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
Unlimited
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

'to a fine' with no stated maximum.

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
24 March 2021
In force from
10 September 2021
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 provide for the licensing of persons involved in Wales in selling animals as pets. Regulation 3 specifies these activities for the purposes of section 13(1) of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (“the 2006 Act”) and provides for local authorities to be the licensing authorities. The consequence of this specification is that, subject to qualifying criteria, any person wishing to carry on any of these activities in Wales must obtain a licence from the local authority under these Regulations. These requirements replace the requirements, in Wales, to obtain a licence under the Pet Animals Act 1951. A person who carries on any of these activities in Wales without a licence under these Regulations commits an offence under section 13(6) of the 2006 Act and is liable to imprisonment for a term of up to 6 months, a fine or both. Under section 30 of the 2006 Act, local authorities may prosecute for any offence under that Act. Part 2 of the Regulations sets out how a person may apply to the local authority for a licence and sets out matters in respect of which a local authority must be satisfied when considering the grant or renewal of a licence. It provides for a local authority to charge fees to cover the costs it incurs in performing this function, considering a licence holder’s compliance with these Regulations, enforcement and administration. It specifies that a local authority must attach certain licence conditions to each licence granted or renewed. It provides that a local authority must appoint an inspector when it considers it appropriate, for the purpose of ensuring that the licence conditions are being complied with. It requires a local authority to have regard to guidance issued by the Welsh Ministers in carrying out their functions under these Regulations. It provides powers for inspectors to take samples from animals. Part 3 sets out the circumstances and procedures under which a licence may be suspended, varied or revoked. It also provides that the breach of a condition of a licence or the obstruction of any inspector appointed for the purposes of enforcement of these Regulations is an offence and applies relevant post-conviction powers contained in the 2006 Act. Part 4 provides for appeals against licensing decisions by local authorities. Part 5 makes repeals, consequential amendments and saving provision. Part 6 sets out that local authorities must provide certain information to the Welsh Ministers. Schedule 1 describes each type of licensable activity. Schedule 2 sets out the general conditions that apply to all licensable activities. Schedule 3 sets out the specific conditions that apply to each licensable activity. Schedule 4 lists persons who may not apply for a licence. Schedule 5 provides for repeals and consequential amendments. 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 in Wales. A copy can be obtained from the Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer, Welsh Government, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF10 3NQ or by emailing a request to: CompanionAnimalWelfare@gov.wales.

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