Office of Public Sector Information
PART 2 continued
(1) Proceedings for an offence under section 23 may be brought within the period of 6 months from the date on which evidence sufficient in the opinion of the prosecutor to justify the proceedings came to the prosecutor’s knowledge.
(2) But no such proceedings may be brought more than 3 years—
(a) after the commission of the offence, or
(b) in the case of an offence involving a continuous contravention, after the last date on which the offence was committed.
(3) In a prosecution of an offence involving a continuous contravention, the entire period during which the contravention occurred may be included.
(4) A certificate signed by or on behalf of the prosecutor which states the date on which evidence referred to in subsection (1) came to the prosecutor’s knowledge is conclusive evidence of that fact; and such a certificate which purports to be so signed is to be treated as being so signed unless the contrary is proved.
(5) For the purposes of this section, proceedings are deemed to be commenced on the date on which a warrant to apprehend or to cite the accused is granted provided that the warrant is executed without undue delay.
(1) Where an offence under this Part, or under regulations made under this Part, is committed by a body corporate and is committed with the consent or connivance of, or is attributable to the neglect of—
(a) a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body, or
(b) a person purporting to act in any such capacity,
that person (as well as the body corporate) commits the offence.
(2) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, subsection (1) applies to acts and omissions by members in exercising functions of management as if they were directors of the body corporate.
(3) Where an offence under this Part, or under regulations made under this Part, is committed by a Scottish partnership and is committed with the consent or connivance of, or is attributable to the neglect of a partner, that partner (as well as the partnership) commits the offence.
(1) A person who commits an offence under section 19 or 23 is liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to a fine not exceeding £20,000 or to both.
(2) A person who commits any other offence under this Part is liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or to both.
(3) A person who commits an offence under regulations made under this Part is liable on summary conviction to such penalties, not exceeding the penalties referred to in subsection (2), as are provided for in the regulations.
This Part does not apply—
(a) in relation to anything which occurs by virtue of, or in accordance with, a provision of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (c. 14),
(b) in relation to anything which occurs in the normal course of fishing.
In this Part, references to suffering include physical or mental suffering.
(1) In this Part, “veterinary surgeon” means a person registered in the register of veterinary surgeons, or the supplementary veterinary register, kept under the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 (c. 36).
(2) In this Part, an “inspector” is, in the context of any particular provision, a person—
(a) appointed as an inspector by the Scottish Ministers, or authorised by them, for the purposes of the provision, or
(b) appointed as an inspector by a local authority for the purposes of the provision.
(3) In subsection (2)(b), a “local authority” means a council constituted under section 2 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 (c. 39).
(4) An inspector incurs no civil or criminal liability for anything which the inspector does in purported exercise of any functions conferred on the inspector by a provision of this Part, or by regulations made under this Part, where the inspector acts on reasonable grounds and in good faith.
(5) Subsection (4) does not affect any liability of any other person in respect of the thing done.
(6) In this Part, a “constable” means a constable of a police force.
(7) Schedule 1 makes provision in relation to powers of inspectors and constables for the purposes of and in connection with this Part.
(1) In this Part, “premises” includes—
(a) any land or building,
(b) any other place, in particular—
(i) a vehicle or vessel,
(ii) a tent or moveable structure.
(2) In this Part, “domestic premises”—
(a) means premises, or a part of premises, used (or used for the time being) exclusively as a dwelling-house, and
(b) includes any land or structure belonging to or usually enjoyed with, or adjacent to and for the time being enjoyed with, the house.
(1) The powers of the Scottish Ministers to make regulations under this Part are exercisable by statutory instrument.
(2) And they include power to—
(a) make such incidental, supplemental, consequential, transitional, transitory or saving provision as the Scottish Ministers consider necessary or expedient for the purposes of or in connection with the regulations,
(b) make different provision for different purposes or for different cases or classes of case.
(3) But a statutory instrument containing regulations under this Part is not made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before, and approved by resolution of, the Scottish Parliament.
Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006