Agriculture Act 1970

105 Amendments of Diseases of Animals Act 1950

(1) Subsection (1) of section 24 of the [1950 c. 36.] Diseases of Animals Act 1950 (which enables a prohibition to be imposed on the landing of animals and things from any specified country whenever it is deemed expedient for the purpose of preventing the introduction of disease into Great Britain) shall be amended as follows:—

(a) the words " whenever he deems it expedient so to do " shall be omitted;

(b) for the words " from any specified country out of Great Britain " there shall be substituted the words " from any, or any specified, country out of Great Britain "; and

(c) at the end there shall be added the words " and any such order may provide for exemptions from any such prohibition by means of licences, whether general or specific and whether conditional or unconditional, issued in accordance with the order ";

and any order expressed to be made before the date of commencement of this subsection under the said section 24 or any enactment replaced thereby, so far as that order has not been revoked before that date, shall have effect as from that date as if made under the said section 24 as amended by this subsection.

(2) Section 9 of the Diseases of Animals Act 1950 (which contains powers for the treatment with serum or vaccine of any animal or bird which has been in contact with a diseased animal or bird or which has been in any way exposed to infection) shall be amended by the addition at the end of the words " or which is in an infected area ".

(3) The said section 9 as in force apart from this subsection shall be numbered as section 9(1), and at the end thereof there shall be added the following subsection:—

“(2) The powers conferred by this section shall be construed as extending to the taking of any action which is requisite for enabling the appropriate treatment to be administered or which is otherwise required in connection with that treatment; and for the purpose of exercising those powers any officer of the Minister may, subject to production of his authority on demand, enter any land or premises taking with him such other persons, if any, as he considers requisite.”

(4) Section 19(6) of the [1950 c. 36.] Diseases of Animals Act 1950 shall cease to have effect so far as it authorises the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to withhold compensation or other payment in respect of an animal slaughtered at his direction where the owner or person having charge of the animal has, in the judgment of the Minister, been guilty of an offence against the Act in relation to that animal.

(5) Section 79 of the Diseases of Animals Act 1950 (penalties for offences against that Act) shall be amended as follows:—

(a) in subsection (1), as amended by Part I of Schedule 3 to the [1967 c. 80.] Criminal Justice Act 1967, for the references in paragraphs (a) and (c) to £200 (the normal maximum fine) there shall be substituted references to £400, and for the reference in paragraph (b) to £20 (the maximum fine per animal where the offence is committed with respect to more than ten) there shall be substituted a reference to £50 ; and

(b) in subsection (2) (imprisonment in lieu of fine on repetition of certain offences within twelve months), the words " within a period of twelve months " shall be omitted.