I was meeting some friends in a restaurant and I ordered my starter - 'vegetable samosas.'  The starter arrived and, only after eating several forkfulls, did I realise that I was in fact eating meat - there had been a mix up in the kitchen!

Under the proposed U.K. Meat Licencing Law could an individual be charged for eating meat without a licence?  What would the charge be?

I ate the remains of an undetermined animal entirely by accident.  If I had been a vegetarian (for instance) this error could have caused some personal upset and offence.

Now, I would say that a large portion of the blame lay with the supplier (the waiter, the chef = The Restaurant).  My opinion is, that under the proposed new law the restaurant themselves should be charged with supplying meat to an unlicenced individual.  I suggest a heavy fine and a closure order for one week.  This approach will encourage purveyors of meat to be more stringent in their quality control and separation of meat and non-meat.

What do people think about this?  I am going to open up a discussion on the topic of penalties and enforcement in the forum.