asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many people smuggling animals into the United Kingdom were stopped at ports of entry and charged in each of the past five years and in the current year to date;(2) in respect of people stopped whilst illegally bringing animals into the United Kingdom, how many animals in each of the past five years were found to be suffering from diseases.
The information available to me, which may be incomplete, relates to the results of court proceedings in England and Wales for offences against the
| Offences currently* recorded as homicide and outcome of proceedings for suspects of victims aged under 15 | ||||||||||
| England and Wales | ||||||||||
| Year | Number of victims | Total suspects | Outcome of proceedings for suspects | Not indicted‡ | Awaiting trial | |||||
| Total | Convicted of homicide | Infanticide | Not convicted‡ of homicide | |||||||
| Murder | Section 2 mans- laughter | Other mans- laughter | ||||||||
| 1982 | 77 | 64 | 50 | 8 | 19 | 17 | 6 | — | 14 | — |
| 1983 | 68 | 64 | 57 | 12 | 10 | 25 | 10 | 1 | 6 | — |
| 1984 | 82 | 69 | 38 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 15 |
| *As at 1 June 1985. | ||||||||||
| † Unfit to plead, not guilty by reason of insanity, acquitted. | ||||||||||
| ‡ Suicide, no proceedings, eg on advice of DPP. | ||||||||||
Animal Health Act 1981 (which replaced the Diseases of Animals Act 1950 in July 1981) and against the Rabies (Importation of Dogs, Cats and Other Mammals) Order 1974. The former is published annually in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, Supplementary Tables, Volume 1" (Table A1·1(A) under offence classification 110); the latter is shown in the table below.
However, I understand from my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, who has responsibility for the health aspect of the importation of animals (including birds) into the United Kingdom under the Animal Health Act 1981, that the number of prosecutions taken under this Act for offences of illegal landings at ports of entry during each of the years 1980 to 1984 were, respectively, 96, 90, 96, 132 and 82 and that none of the animals landed illegally under the Animal Health Act 1981 (which may be directed to quarantine, reexported or destroyed) and directed to quarantine were found to be infected with diseases for which his Department would invoke powers of destruction.
Following is the information:
Defendants proceeded against at magistrates' court in England and Wales for offences against the Rabies (Importation of Dogs, Cats and Other Mammals)
| |
Year
| Number of defendants
|
| 1980 | 6 |
| 1981 | 4 |
| 1982 | 9 |
| 1983 | 8 |
| 1984 | 10 |