Protection of Animals Act 1934

1934 CHAPTER 21

An Act to provide further protection to certain animals.

[17th May 1934]

Be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

1 Prohibition of certain public contests, performances, and exhibitions with animals.

(1) No person shall promote, or cause or knowingly permit to take place any public performance which includes any episode consisting of or involving—

(a) throwing or casting, with ropes or other appliances, any unbroken horse or untrained bull; or

(b) wrestling, fighting, or struggling with any untrained bull; or

(c) riding, or attempting to' ride, any horse or bull which by the use of any appliance or treatment involving cruelty is, or has been, stimulated with the intention of making it buck during the performance;

and no person shall in any public performance take part in any such episode as aforesaid,

(2) For the purposes of proceedings under paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) of the preceding subsection, if an animal appears or is represented to spectators to be unbroken or untrained it shall lie on the defendant to prove that the animal is in fact broken or trained.

In proceedings under paragraph (c) of the said subsection in respect of the use of any such appliance or treatment as is therein mentioned upon a horse before or during a performance, it shall be a defence for the defendant to prove that he did not know, and could not reasonably be expected to know, that the appliance or treatment was to be or was used.

(3) In this section—

• the expressions " horse," and " bull " have, respectively, the same meanings as in the [1 & 2 Geo. 5. c. 27.] Protection of Animals Act, 1911;

• the expression " public performance " does not include a performance presented to the public by means of the cinematograph.

(4) In the application of this section to Scotland—

• the expression " horse " has the same meaning as in the [2 & 3 Geo. 5. c. 14.] Protection of Animals (Scotland) Act, 1912, and

• the expression " bull " means or as defined in that Act.

2 Penalties.

If any person contravenes any of the provisions of the foregoing section, he shall be liable upon summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, or, alternatively, or in addition thereto, to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding three months.

3 Short title and extent.

(1) This Act may be cited as the Protection of Animals Act, 1934.

(2) This Act shall not extend to Northern Ireland.