Search Legislation

Protection of Animals (Scotland) Act 1912

Status:

This is the original version (as it was originally enacted).

Legislation Crest

Protection of Animals (Scotland) Act 1912

1912 CHAPTER 14 2 and 3 Geo 5

An Act to consolidate and amend enactments relating to Animals and Knackers; and to make further provision with respect thereto.

[13th December 1912]

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 :

1Offences of cruelty

(1)If any person—

(a)shall cruelly beat, kick, ill-treat, over-ride, over-drive, over-load, torture, infuriate, or terrify any animal, or shall cause or procure, or, being the owner, permit any animal to be so used, or shall, by wantonly or unreasonably doing or omitting to do any act, or causing or procuring the commission or omission of any act, cause any unnecessary suffering, or, being the owner, permit any unnecessary suffering to be so caused to any animal; or

(b)shall convey or carry, or cause or procure, or, being the owner, permit to be conveyed or carried, any animal in such manner or position as to cause that animal any unnecessary suffering; or

(c)shall cause, procure, or assist at the fighting or baiting of any animal; or shall keep, use, manage, or act or assist in the management of, any premises or place for the purpose, or partly for the purpose, of fighting or baiting any animal, or shall permit any premises or place to be so kept, managed, or used, or shall receive, or cause or procure any person to receive, money for the admission of any person to such premises or place ; or

(d)shall wilfully, without any reasonable cause or excuse, administer, or cause or procure, or being the owner permit, such administration of, any poisonous or injurious drug or substance to any animal, or shall wilfully, without any reasonable cause or excuse, cause any such substance to be taken by any animal; or

(e)shall subject, or cause or procure, or being the owner permit, to be subjected, any animal to any operation which is performed without due care and humanity ;

such person shall be guilty of an offence of cruelty within the meaning of this Act', and shall be liable upon summary conviction to a fine not exceeding twenty-five pounds, or alternatively, or in addition thereto, to be imprisoned, with or without hard labour, for any term not exceeding six months.

(2)For the purposes of this section, an owner shall be deemed to have permitted cruelty within the meaning of this Act if he shall have failed to exercise reasonable care and supervision in respect of the protection of the animal therefrom :

Provided that, where an owner is convicted of permitting cruelty within the meaning of this Act by reason only of his having failed to exercise such care and supervision, he shall not be liable to imprisonment without the option of a fine.

(3)Nothing in this section shall render illegal any act lawfully done under the [39 & 40 Vict. c. 77.] Cruelty to Animals Act, 1876, or shall apply—

(a)to the commission or omission of any act in the course of the destruction, or the preparation for destruction, of any animal as food for mankind, unless such destruction or such preparation was accompanied by the infliction of unnecessary suffering; or

(b)to the coursing or hunting of any captive animal, unless such animal is liberated in an injured, mutilated, or exhausted condition; but a captive animal shall not, for the purposes of this section, be deemed to be coursed or hunted before it is liberated for the purpose of being coursed or hunted, or after it has been re-captured, or if it is under control.

2Power for court to order destruction of animal

Where the owner of an animal is convicted of an offence of cruelty within the meaning of this Act, it shall be lawful for the court, if the court is satisfied that it would be cruel to keep the animal alive, to direct that the animal be destroyed, and to assign the animal to any suitable person for that purpose ; and the person to whom such animal is so assigned shall, as soon as possible, destroy such animal, or cause or procure such animal to be destroyed, in his presence without unnecessary suffering. Any reasonable expenses incurred in destroying the animal may be ordered by the court to be paid by the owner, and thereupon shall be recoverable summarily as a civil debt:

Provided that, unless the owner assent, no order shall be made under this section except upon the evidence of a duly registered veterinary surgeon.

3Power for court to deprive person convicted of cruelty of ownership of animal

If the owner of any animal shall be guilty of cruelty within the meaning of this Act to the animal, the court, upon his conviction thereof, may, if they think fit, in addition to any other punishment, deprive such person of the ownership of the animal, and may make such order as to the disposal of the animal as they think fit under the circumstances :

Provided that no order shall be made under this section, unless it is shown by evidence as to a previous conviction, or as to the character of the owner, or otherwise, that the animal, if left with the owner, is likely to be exposed to further cruelty.

4Compensation for damage done by cruelty to an animal

If any person shall, by cruelty within the meaning of this Act to any animal, do or cause to be done, any damage or injury to the animal or any person or property, he shall, upon conviction for the cruelty under this Act, be liable upon the application of the person aggrieved to be ordered to pay as compensation to the person who shall sustain damage or injury as aforesaid, such sum not exceeding ten pounds as the court before whom he is convicted may consider reasonable ; and such sum shall be recoverable summarily as a civil debt by the person to whom it is ordered to be paid :

Provided that this section shall not—

(a)prevent the taking of any other legal proceedings in respect of any such damage or injury, so that a person be not twice proceeded against in respect of the same claim ; nor

(b)affect the liability of any person to be punished under this Act for an offence of cruelty within the meaning of this Act:

Provided further that a person shall not be ordered to pay any sum as compensation under this section unless he has had reasonable notice of the application to be made by the person aggrieved, including notice of the amount claimed.

5Knackers to be registered and to comply with certain regulations

(1)No person shall keep or use any building or place as a knacker's yard without first taking out a licence for that purpose, which licence every sheriff within his own county is hereby authorised to grant, upon being satisfied that the person applying for such licence is a proper person for keeping such yard, and upon payment of a sum not exceeding five shillings to the sheriff clerk for making out and recording such licence ; and a copy of such licence shall be recorded in the sheriff clerk's books ; and any person shall at all reasonable hours be entitled to inspect such books and to make any extract relating to such licence therefrom, upon payment to the sheriff clerk of six pence for such inspection and extract ; and any person contravening this provision shall be liable upon summary conviction to a penalty not exceeding five pounds.

(2)Every person who shall carry on, or assist in carrying on, the trade or business of a knacker shall observe and conform to the regulations set out in the First Schedule to this Act, and, if any person, carrying on or assisting in the carrying on of the said trade or business, contravenes or fails to comply with, or causes or procures or permits any contravention or non-compliance with, any such regulation, he shall be liable upon summary conviction to a fine not exceeding ten pounds.

(3)Any constable shall have a right to enter any knacker's yard at any hour by day, or at any hour when business is or apparently is in progress or is usually carried on therein, for the purpose of examining whether there is or has been any contravention of or non-compliance with the provisions of this Act, and, if any person refuses to permit any constable to enter any premises which he is entitled to enter under this section, or obstructs or impedes him in the execution of his duty under this section, he shall, upon summary conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding five pounds.

(4)For the purposes of section one, which relates to offences of cruelty, of this Act, a knacker shall be deemed to be the owner of any animal delivered to him.

(5)For the purposes of this Act, an animal shall be deemed to have been delivered to a knacker if it has been delivered either to the knacker himself, or to any person on his behalf, or at the knacker's yard.

6Persons licensed to slaughter horses not to be horse dealers at same time

(1)It shall not be lawful for any person who shall be licensed to slaughter horses, during the time while such licence shall be in force, to carry on the trade or business of a dealer in horses.

(2)If any person shall act in contravention of this section, he shall be liable upon summary conviction to a fine not exceeding ten pounds.

7Poisoned grain and flesh, &c

If any person—

(a)shall sell, or offer or expose for sale, or give away, or cause or procure any person to sell or offer or expose for sale or give away, or knowingly be a party to the sale or offering or exposing for sale or giving away of any grain or seed which has been rendered poisonous except for bona fide use in agriculture; or

(b)shall knowingly put or place, or cause or procure any person to put or place, or knowingly be a party to the putting or placing, in or upon any land or building any poison, or any fluid or edible matter (not being sown seed or grain) which has been rendered poisonous;

such person shall, upon summary conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding ten pounds :

Provided that, in any proceedings under paragraph (b) of this section, it shall be a defence that the poison was placed by the accused for the purpose of destroying vermin, where such is found to be necessary in the interests of the public health, agriculture, or the preservation of other animals, domestic or wild, or for the purpose of manuring the land, and that he took all reasonable precautions to prevent access thereto of dogs, cats, fowls, or other domestic animals.

8Use of dogs for purposes of draught

If any person shall use, or cause or procure, or being the owner permit, to be used, any dog for the purpose of drawing or helping to draw any cart, carriage, truck, or barrow, on any public highway, he shall be liable upon summary conviction in respect of the first offence to a fine not exceeding two pounds, and in respect of the second or any subsequent offence to a line not exceeding live pounds.

9Inspection of traps

Any person who sets, or causes or procures to be set, any spring trap, or any snare, for the purpose of catching any hare or rabbit, or which is so placed as to be likely to catch any hare or rabbit, shall inspect, or cause some competent person to inspect, the trap or snare at least once every day, and, if any person shall fail to comply with the provisions of this section, he shall be liable upon summary conviction to a fine not exceeding five pounds.

10Injured animals

(1)If a constable finds any animal so diseased or so severely injured or in such a physical condition that, in his opinion, having regard to the means available for removing the animal, there is no possibility of removing it without cruelty, he shall, if the owner is absent or refuses to consent to the destruction of the animal, at once summon a duly registered veterinary surgeon, if any such veterinary surgeon resides within a reasonable distance, and, if it appears by the certificate of such veterinary surgeon that the animal is mortally injured, or so severely injured, or so diseased, or in such physical condition, that it is cruel to keep it alive, it shall be lawful for the constable, without the consent of the owner, to slaughter the animal, or cause or procure it to be slaughtered, with such instruments or appliances, and with such precautions, and in such manner, as to inflict no unnecessary suffering, and, if the slaughter takes place on any public highway, to remove-the carcase or cause or procure it to be removed therefrom.

(2)If any veterinary surgeon summoned under this section certifies that the injured animal can without cruelty be removed, it shall be the duty of the person in charge of the animal to cause it forthwith to be removed with as little suffering as possible, and, if that person fail so to do, the constable may, without the consent of that person, cause the animal forthwith to be so removed.

(3)Any expense which may be reasonably incurred by any police constable in carrying out the provisions of this section (including the expenses of any veterinary surgeon summoned by the constable, and whether the animal is slaughtered under this section or not) may he recovered from the owner summarily as a civil debt, and, subject thereto, any such expense shall be defrayed out of the fund from which the expenses of the police are payable in the area in which the animal is found.

(4)For the purposes of this section, the expression " animal " means any horse, mule, ass, ox, sheep, goat, or pig.

11Powers of constables

(1)A constable may apprehend without warrant any person whom he has reason to believe (whether upon his own view or upon the complaint and information of any other person, who shall declare his name and place of abode to such constable) to be guilty of an offence under this Act which is punishable by imprisonment without the option of a fine.

(2)Where a person having charge of a vehicle or animal is apprehended by a constable for an offence under this Act, it shall be lawful for that or any other constable to take charge of such vehicle or animal, and to deposit the same in some place of safe custody until the termination of the proceedings or until the court shall direct such vehicle or animal to be delivered to the person charged or the owner, and the reasonable costs of such detention, including the reasonable costs of veterinary treatment where such treatment is required, shall, in the event of a conviction in respect of the said animal, be recoverable from the owner summarily as a civil debt, or, where the owner himself is convicted, shall be part of the costs of the case.

12Owners to produce animals if so required

(1)Where proceedings are instituted under this Act, it shall be lawful for the court after reasonable notice to any person (not being the owner) against whom such proceedings are instituted, to issue a citation directed to the owner of the animal requiring him to produce either at, or at any time before, the hearing of the case, as may be stated in the citation, the animal for the inspection of the court, if such production is possible without cruelty.

(2)Where a citation is issued under the foregoing subsection of this section, and the owner fails to comply therewith without satisfactory excuse, he shall be liable upon summary conviction to a fine not exceeding five pounds for the first occasion, and not exceeding ten pounds for the second or any subsequent occasion, on which he so fails, and may be required to pay the costs of any adjournment rendered necessary by his failure.

13Definitions

In this Act, except the context otherwise requires, or it is otherwise expressly provided,—;

(a)the expression " animal " means any domestic or captive animal;

(b)the expression " domestic animal " means any horse, ass, mule, ox, sheep, pig, goat, dog, cat, or fowl, or any other animal of whatsoever kind or species, and whether a quadruped or not which is tame or which has been or is being sufficiently tamed to serve some purpose for the use of man ;

(c)the expression " captive animal " means any animal (not being a domestic animal) of whatsoever kind or species, and whether a quadruped or not, including any bird, fish, or reptile, which is in captivity, or confinement, or which is maimed, pinioned, or subjected to any appliance or contrivance for the purpose of hindering or preventing its escape from captivity or confinement ;

(d)the expression " horse " includes any mare, gelding, pony, foal, colt, filly, or stallion ; and the expression " or " includes any cow, bullock, heifer, calf, steer, or bull, and the expression "sheep" includes any lamb, ewe, or ram ; and the expression " pig " includes any boar, hog, or sow; and the expression "goat" includes a kid ; and the expression " dog " includes any bitch, sapling, or puppy ; and the expression " cat " includes a kitten; and the expression " fowl " includes any cock, hen, chicken, capon, turkey, goose, gander, duck, drake", guinea-fowl, peacock, peahen, swan, or pigeon ;

(e)The expression " knacker " means a person whose trade or business it is to kill any cattle not killed for the purpose of the flesh being used as butcher's meat, and the expression " knacker's yard" means any building or place used for the purpose, or partly for the purpose, of such trade or business, and the expression " cattle " includes any horse, ass, mule, ox, sheep, goat, or pig ;

(f)The word "constable " includes any constable within the meaning of the [53 & 54 Vict. c. 67.] Police (Scotland) Act, 1890, and any justice of the peace, constable, or sheriff officer.

14Extent of Act

This Act shall apply to Scotland only.

15Repeals

(1)So far as applying to Scotland, the enactments mentioned in the Second Schedule to the [1 & 2 Geo. 5. c. 27.] Protection of Animals Act, 1911, are repealed to the extent mentioned in the third column of that schedule.

(2)The enactments mentioned in the Second Schedule to this Act are repealed to the extent mentioned in the third column of that schedule.

16Commencement, saving for pending proceedings, and short title

(1)This Act shall come into operation on the first day of January nineteen hundred and thirteen.

(2)This Act shall not apply where proceedings have been instituted before the commencement of this Act.

(3)This Act may be cited as the Protection of Animals (Scotland) Act, 1912; and this Act and the Protection of Animals Act, 1911, may be cited together as the Protection of Animals Acts, 1911 and 1912.

SCHEDULES.

Section 5.

FIRST SCHEDULE

1The name of the knacker, together with the. word" knacker," shall be painted or affixed in a conspicuous manner over the door or gate of the knacker's yard.

2The hair shall be cut from the Deck of any horse, ass, or mule directly the animal has been delivered to the knacker.

3All animals shall be slaughtered, with no unnecessary suffering, within two days from the time they have been delivered to the knacker. Any animal which is in pain shall be so slaughtered without delay.

4All animals shall be properly fed and watered after they have been delivered to the knacker. .

5No animal shall be used or employed for any work after it has-been delivered to the knacker.

6The knacker shall enter in a book kept for the purpose such a. full and correct description of the colour, marks, and gender of every animal delivered to him as may clearly distinguish and identify the same, and the name and address of the owner thereof, and the book shall be produced by him before any court upon the requirement of such court, and the knacker shall allow such book to be inspected and extracts to be made therefrom at all reasonable times by any constable or by any other person authorised by any court.

7No person who is under the age of sixteen years shall be admitted to, or permitted to remain in, the knacker's yard during the process of slaughtering or of cutting up the carcase of any animal.

8No animal shall be killed in the sight of any other animal awaiting, slaughter.

9The knacker shall not sell or part with alive, or cause or procure or permit any person to sell or part with alive, any animal which has been delivered to him.

Section 15.

SECOND SCHEDULEEnactments Repealed

Session and Chapter.Short Title.Extent of Repeal.
13 & 14 Vict. c. 92.The Cruelty to Animals (Scotland) Act, 1850.The whole Act.
58 & 59 Vict. c. 13.The Cruelty to Animals (Scotland) Act, 1895.The whole Act.
9 Edw. 7. c. 33.The Wild Animals in Captivity (Scotland) Act, 1909.The whole Act.

Back to top

Options/Help

Print Options

Close

Legislation is available in different versions:

Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.

Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.

Close

Opening Options

Different options to open legislation in order to view more content on screen at once

Close

More Resources

Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:

  • the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
  • lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
  • confers power and blanket amendment details
  • all formats of all associated documents
  • correction slips
  • links to related legislation and further information resources
Close

More Resources

Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:

  • the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
  • correction slips

Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including:

  • lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
  • confers power and blanket amendment details
  • all formats of all associated documents
  • links to related legislation and further information resources