Rats and Mice (Destruction) Act 1919
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1919 c. 72 |
| Year | 1919 |
Rats and Mice (Destruction) Act, 1919
(9 & 10 Geo. 5.) CHAPTER 72.
An Act to make further provision for the Destruction of Rats and Mice.
[23rd December 1919]
B E 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 Penalty for failure to destroy rats and mice.
1. Any person who shall fail to take such steps as may from time to time be necessary and reasonably practicable for the destruction of rats and mice on or in any land of which he is the occupier, or for preventing such land from becoming infested with rats or mice, shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding five pounds, or, where he has been served with a notice under this Act requiring him to take such steps, not exceeding twenty pounds.
2 Enforcement of Act.
(1) The following local authorities shall execute and enforce this Act; that is to say,—
(a ) In the city of London, the common council;
(b ) In any metropolitan borough, the borough council;
(c ) In any administrative county (other than the county of London) or county borough (except any part thereof which is a port sanitary district), the council of the county or borough;
(d ) In any port sanitary district, the port sanitary authority:
Provided that the London County Council shall, to the exclusion of any other authority, be the local authority for the purpose of executing and enforcing this Act with respect to the sewers vested in, and the sludge vessels belonging to, that council; provided also that a county council may, with the consent of the council of any borough or county district in the county, delegate its powers and duties under this Act to that borough or district council, and, where powers and duties have been so delegated, the borough or district council shall be the local authority for the purposes of this Act.
(2) The expenses incurred by the local authority under this Act shall be defrayed in the case of a county out of the general county fund, and in the case of a port sanitary authority as part of their expenses as a port sanitary authority, and in any other case as expenses incurred by the local authority in the execution of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891 , or the Public Health Act, 1875 , as the case may be.
3 Powers of Board of Agriculture and Fisheries in case of default by local authority.
(1) Where a local authority having power to enforce this Act fails, in respect of land of which it is the occupier, to comply with the provisions of section one of this Act or fails, in respect of land for which it is the local authority under section two of this Act, to execute or enforce any of the provisions of this Act, the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries may by order empower the person therein named to enter upon such land and to execute and enforce those provisions or to procure the execution and enforcement thereof.
(2) The expenses incurred by or on behalf of the Board by reason of any such default of a local authority shall be paid to the Board on demand by the treasurer or other proper officer of that local authority, and in default of payment the Board may recover the amount of such expenses (except in so far as such expenses are otherwise recoverable under this Act) from the local authority; and any sum paid by a local authority under this section shall be defrayed as expenses under this Act.
(3) For the purposes of this section, any statement contained in an order of the Board that a...
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