Weird and wonderful laws still enforceable today #1

It is an offence to be drunk and in charge of cattle in England and Wales
By virtue of the Licensing Act 1872, s12, it is an offence for any person in England and Wales to be drunk while in charge on any highway or other public place of any carriage, horse, cattle, or steam engine, or to be drunk when in possession of a loaded firearm.

Perpetrators can face hefty fines and as much as 51 weeks of jail time.

Incidentally, the issue of cows was reinforced under the Metropolitan Streets Act 1867, which made it an office to drive cattle through the streets between 7 pm and 10 am without express permission of the Commissioner of Police.

In the same Licensing Act, it is also illegal to be drunk in a licensed premise so anyone therefore caught inebriated outside the safety of home can be fined. Not to be confused with being drunk and disorderly, which is an offence under the Criminal Justice Act of 1968, being drunk in a licensed premises – in other words a pub – is illegal in its own right. Section 12 of the 1872 Licensing Act stipulates that ‘every person found drunk… on any licensed premises shall be liable to a penalty’, which currently stands at £200.

Furthermore, under the Metropolitan Police Act 1839, pub landlords can be fined if they allow people to get drunk on their premises.