9 May 2007 : Column WA255
Written Answers
Wednesday 9 May 2007
Animal Welfare: Prosecutions
Lord Bradley asked Her Majesty's Government:
For each year since 2002 what was the total number of (a) prosecutions, and (b) convictions under Section 1 of the Protection of Animals Act 1911. [HL3309]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): Data from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform, showing the number of defendants proceeded against at a magistrates' court and found guilty at all courts for the offence of cruelty to animals under the Protection of Animals Act 1911 in England and Wales from 2002 to 2005 can be viewed in table 1.
Court proceedings data for 2006 will be available in autumn 2007.
Data from the Scottish Executive showing the number of persons proceeded against for offences under Section 1 of the Protection of Animals (Scotland) Act 1912 in Scottish courts from 2001-02 to 2005-06 can be viewed in table 2.
Data from the Northern Ireland Office showing the number of prosecutions and convictions under the Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 1972 can be viewed in table 3.
| Table 1: The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates' court and found guilty at all courts for the offence of cruelty to animals under the Protection of Animals Act 1911 in England and Wales, from 2002 to 2005(1) (2) |
| Prosecuted | | | | Found guilty | | | |
|
2002
|
2003
|
2004
|
2005
|
2002
|
2003
|
2004
|
2005
|
|
1,006
|
999
|
984
|
1,061
|
768
|
783
|
787
|
843
|
| (1) These data are on the principal-offence basis. |
| (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. |
| Our ref: PQ HL3309 |
| Source: RDS Office for Criminal Justice Reform |
| Table 2: Persons proceeded against in Scottish courts for offences under Section 1 of the Protection of Animals (Scotland) Act 1912 (1), from 2001-02 to 2005-06 |
| 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 |
|
Prosecuted
|
38
|
23
|
24
|
27
|
22
|
|
Charge proved
|
33
|
20
|
21
|
21
|
20
|
| (1). Where main offence |
| Source: SEJD court proceedings database |
| Background note from information held on the SEJD court proceedings database. The figures for a particular year will exclude the outcome of court proceedings which had not been recorded on the Scottish Criminal Record Office (SCRO) criminal history system at the point at which the analysis file for that year was created—generally around 12 months after the end of the year in question. For example, the figures for 2005-06 will exclude any cases not recorded on the SCRO system by the end of February 2007. As it can take more than a year for the outcome details of some court disposals (particularly in the High Court) to be recorded on the SCRO system, the figures shown are likely to be slight underestimates. |
9 May 2007 : Column WA256
| Table 3: Prosecutions and Convictions under the Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 1972 (1) (2) |
| 2002 | | 2003 | | 2004 | | 2005 | |
| Pro | Con | Pro | Con | Pro | Con | Pro | Con |
|
Owner permitting cruelty to animals
|
0
|
0
|
4
|
4
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
|
Abandoning animal
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
2
|
|
Causing unnecessary suffering to animals
|
6
|
6
|
11
|
8
|
9
|
8
|
10
|
9
|
|
Permitting cruelty to animals
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
|
Cruelty to animals
|
2
|
2
|
13
|
10
|
9
|
8
|
12
|
9
|
|
Causing unnecessary suffering to livestock
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Unlawful animal fighting
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
|
Failing to provide clean and comfortable lying area for pigs
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Total
|
10
|
10
|
31
|
24
|
20
|
18
|
28
|
23
|
| (1) Data are collated on the principal-offence rule, thus only the most serious offence with which an offender is charged is included |
| (2) Data for 2005 are provisional. |
