The Cat and Dog Fur (Control of Import, Export and Placing on the Market) Regulations 2008

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations implement in the United Kingdom Regulation (EC) No 1523/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2007 (the “EC Regulation”) which prohibits the import, export and placing on the market of cat and dog fur.

Article 3 of the EC Regulation prohibits the import, export and placing on the market of cat and dog fur. Article 8 of the EC Regulation states that Member States shall lay down the rules on penalties applicable to infringements of Article 3 of the EC Regulation and that the penalties provided for shall be “effective, proportionate and dissuasive”.

The other provisions of the EC Regulation are directly applicable in the United Kingdom and do not need to be transposed.

Regulation 2 implements Article 8 of the EC Regulation by making contravention of Article 3 of the EC Regulation a criminal offence, punishable on indictment with a maximum penalty of £75,000 and on summary conviction with a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum (currently £5,000).

Regulation 3(1) imposes a duty on local weights and measures authorities (in Great Britain) and district councils (in Northern Ireland) to enforce regulation 2 but regulation 3(2) excludes from this duty the enforcement of the Regulations within areas where the goods are under the supervision of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, in which areas enforcement will be the responsibility of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.

Regulation 3(3) gives powers to local weights and measures authorities (in Great Britain) and district councils (in Northern Ireland) to inspect and seize goods suspected to be cat and dog fur for the purposes of enforcing regulation 2. No such powers are conferred on Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs since all necessary powers are already granted by the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979.

Regulation 4 grants powers to local weights and measures authorities (in Great Britain) and district councils (in Northern Ireland) to apply to Court for forfeiture orders in respect of goods which contravene the prohibition in regulation 2. No such powers are conferred on officers of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs since all necessary powers are already granted by the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979.

Regulation 5 makes it a criminal offence (carrying a maximum penalty of a fine at level 3 on the standard scale) for a person intentionally to obstruct or fail to co-operate with an officer exercising powers granted under regulation 4.

Data (including personal data) which needs to be transferred between enforcement authorities and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs for the purposes of enforcing these Regulations will be transferred through existing powers conferred by section 19 of the Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001.

A full Impact Assessment has been carried out and a copy has been placed in the libraries of both Houses of Parliament, together with a transposition note. Copies may be obtained from the Trade Policy Unit of the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, 1 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0ET.