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Schedules | |
Schedule 1 | |
Section 3 | |
Exempt Hunting | |
Stalking and flushing out | |
1 (1) Stalking a wild mammal, or flushing it out of cover, is exempt hunting if the | 5 |
conditions in this paragraph are satisfied. | |
(2) The first condition is that the stalking or flushing out is undertaken for the | |
purpose of— | |
(a) preventing or reducing serious damage which the wild mammal | |
would otherwise cause— | 10 |
(i) to livestock, | |
(ii) to game birds or wild birds (within the meaning of section 27 | |
of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (c. 69)), | |
(iii) to food for livestock, | |
(iv) to crops (including vegetables and fruit), | 15 |
(v) to growing timber, | |
(vi) to fisheries, | |
(vii) to other property, or | |
(viii) to the biological diversity of an area (within the meaning of | |
the United Nations Environmental Programme Convention | 20 |
on Biological Diversity of 1992), or | |
(b) obtaining meat to be used for human or animal consumption. | |
(3) The second condition is that the stalking or flushing out takes place on | |
land— | |
(a) which belongs to the person doing the stalking or flushing out, or | 25 |
(b) which he has been given permission to use for the purpose by the | |
occupier or, in the case of unoccupied land, by a person to whom it | |
belongs. | |
(4) The third condition is that the stalking or flushing out does not involve the | |
use of more than two dogs. | 30 |
(5) The fourth condition is that the stalking or flushing out does not involve the | |
use of a dog below ground. | |
(6) The fifth condition is that— | |
(a) reasonable steps are taken for the purpose of ensuring that as soon as | |
possible after being found or flushed out the wild mammal is shot | 35 |
dead by a competent person, and | |
(b) in particular, each dog used in the stalking or flushing out is kept | |
under sufficiently close control to ensure that it does not prevent or | |
obstruct achievement of the objective in paragraph (a). | |
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Rats | |
2 The hunting of rats is exempt if it takes place on land— | |
(a) which belongs to the hunter, or | |
(b) which he has been given permission to use for the purpose by the | |
occupier or, in the case of unoccupied land, by a person to whom it | 5 |
belongs. | |
Rabbits | |
3 The hunting of rabbits is exempt if it takes place on land— | |
(a) which belongs to the hunter, or | |
(b) which he has been given permission to use for the purpose by the | 10 |
occupier or, in the case of unoccupied land, by a person to whom it | |
belongs. | |
Retrieval of hares | |
4 The hunting of a hare which has been shot is exempt if it takes place on | |
land— | 15 |
(a) which belongs to the hunter, or | |
(b) which he has been given permission to use for the purpose of | |
hunting hares by the occupier or, in the case of unoccupied land, by | |
a person to whom it belongs. | |
Falconry | 20 |
5 Flushing a wild mammal from cover is exempt hunting if undertaken— | |
(a) for the purpose of enabling a bird of prey to hunt the wild mammal, | |
and | |
(b) on land which belongs to the hunter or which he has been given | |
permission to use for the purpose by the occupier or, in the case of | 25 |
unoccupied land, by a person to whom it belongs. | |
Recapture of wild mammal | |
6 (1) The hunting of a wild mammal which has escaped or been released from | |
captivity or confinement is exempt if the conditions in this paragraph are | |
satisfied. | 30 |
(2) The first condition is that the hunting takes place— | |
(a) on land which belongs to the hunter, | |
(b) on land which he has been given permission to use for the purpose | |
by the occupier or, in the case of unoccupied land, by a person to | |
whom it belongs, or | 35 |
(c) with the authority of a constable. | |
(3) The second condition is that— | |
(a) reasonable steps are taken for the purpose of ensuring that as soon as | |
possible after being found the wild mammal is recaptured or shot | |
dead by a competent person, and | 40 |
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(b) in particular, each dog used in the hunt is kept under sufficiently | |
close control to ensure that it does not prevent or obstruct | |
achievement of the objective in paragraph (a). | |
(4) The third condition is that the wild mammal— | |
(a) was not released for the purpose of being hunted, and | 5 |
(b) was not, for that purpose, permitted to escape. | |
Rescue of wild mammal | |
7 (1) The hunting of a wild mammal is exempt if the conditions in this paragraph | |
are satisfied. | |
(2) The first condition is that the hunter reasonably believes that the wild | 10 |
mammal is or may be diseased or injured. | |
(3) The second condition is that the hunting is undertaken for the purpose of | |
relieving the wild mammal’s suffering or treating its disease. | |
(4) The third condition is that the hunting does not involve the use of a dog | |
below ground. | 15 |
(5) The fourth condition is that the hunting takes place— | |
(a) on land which belongs to the hunter, | |
(b) on land which he has been given permission to use for the purpose | |
by the occupier or, in the case of unoccupied land, by a person to | |
whom it belongs, or | 20 |
(c) with the authority of a constable. | |
(6) The fifth condition is that— | |
(a) reasonable steps are taken for the purpose of ensuring that as soon as | |
possible after the wild mammal is found appropriate action (if any) | |
is taken to relieve its suffering or to treat its disease, and | 25 |
(b) in particular, each dog used in the hunt is kept under sufficiently | |
close control to ensure that it does not prevent or obstruct | |
achievement of the objective in paragraph (a). | |
(7) The sixth condition is that the wild mammal was not harmed for the purpose | |
of enabling it to be hunted in reliance upon this paragraph. | 30 |
Schedule 2 | |
Section 12 | |
The Hunting Tribunal | |
President and deputy | |
1 (1) The Lord Chancellor shall appoint a President of the Tribunal. | |
(2) A person may be appointed as President only if— | 35 |
(a) he has a ten year general qualification within the meaning of section | |
71 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 (c. 41), | |
(b) he is an advocate or solicitor in Scotland of at least ten years’ | |
standing, or | |
(c) he is a member of the Bar of Northern Ireland, or a solicitor of the | 40 |
Supreme Court of Northern Ireland, of at least ten years’ standing. | |
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2 (1) The Lord Chancellor may appoint a member of the panel of chairmen of the | |
Tribunal as deputy President of the Tribunal. | |
(2) The deputy President— | |
(a) may act for the President if he is unable to act or unavailable or | |
during a vacancy in the office of President, and | 5 |
(b) shall perform such other functions as the President may assign or | |
delegate to him. | |
3 The Lord Chancellor may authorise a member of the panel of chairmen of | |
the Tribunal— | |
(a) to act for the President if he and the deputy President (if there is one) | 10 |
are unable to act or unavailable; | |
(b) to act for the President during a vacancy in that office if there is no | |
deputy President; | |
(c) to act for the deputy President if he is unable to act or unavailable. | |
Chairmen | 15 |
4 (1) The Lord Chancellor shall appoint persons to a panel of chairmen of the | |
Tribunal. | |
(2) A person may be appointed under this paragraph only if— | |
(a) he has a seven year general qualification within the meaning of | |
section 71 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 (c. 41), | 20 |
(b) he is an advocate or solicitor in Scotland of at least seven years’ | |
standing, or | |
(c) he is a member of the Bar of Northern Ireland, or a solicitor of the | |
Supreme Court of Northern Ireland, of at least seven years’ standing. | |
Members | 25 |
5 (1) The Lord Chancellor shall appoint persons to a panel of members of the | |
Tribunal. | |
(2) The Lord Chancellor may appoint a person to the panel of members only if | |
the Lord Chancellor thinks that the person has appropriate experience | |
relating to— | 30 |
(a) the welfare of animals, or | |
(b) the management of land. | |
Tenure | |
6 (1) A person appointed under any of paragraphs 1 to 5 shall hold and vacate | |
office in accordance with the terms of his appointment (subject to this | 35 |
paragraph). | |
(2) A person appointed under any of paragraphs 1 to 5 may resign by notice in | |
writing to the Lord Chancellor. | |
(3) The Lord Chancellor may dismiss a person appointed under any of | |
paragraphs 1 to 5— | 40 |
(a) on the grounds that he is unable or unwilling to perform his | |
functions, or | |
(b) for misbehaviour. | |
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Proceedings | |
7 The Tribunal shall sit in such places and at such times as the Lord Chancellor | |
shall determine (and may hold more than one sitting at a time). | |
8 (1) The President shall make arrangements for determining which of the | |
persons appointed under paragraphs 1 to 5 shall constitute the Tribunal at | 5 |
each sitting. | |
(2) The arrangements shall, in particular, ensure that at each sitting the Tribunal | |
consists of either— | |
(a) the President or a member of the panel of chairmen, or | |
(b) the President, or a member of the panel of chairmen, sitting with one | 10 |
member appointed under paragraph 5(2)(a) and one member | |
appointed under paragraph 5(2)(b). | |
9 Decisions of the Tribunal may be taken by majority vote. | |
10 The President may give directions about the practice and procedure of the | |
Tribunal. | 15 |
11 Rules under section 12 may, in particular, make provision— | |
(a) about representation of parties; | |
(b) about withdrawal of proceedings; | |
(c) about the admission of members of the public to proceedings; | |
(d) about recording and promulgating decisions; | 20 |
(e) by reference to a direction given or to be given by the President. | |
Evidence | |
12 The Tribunal— | |
(a) may call an expert witness to give evidence on a matter of fact arising | |
in proceedings before it, and | 25 |
(b) may have regard to advice provided to it under section 14. | |
Costs | |
13 If the Tribunal thinks that a party to proceedings before it has acted | |
unreasonably it may order the party to pay all or part of the costs incurred | |
by another party to the proceedings. | 30 |
Council on Tribunals | |
14 In Part I of Schedule 1 to the Tribunals and Inquiries Act 1992 (c. 53) | |
(tribunals under general supervision of Council) the following shall be | |
inserted before paragraph 22— | |
| | “Hunting | 21B. The Hunting Tribunal | | 35 | | | | established by section 12 of | | | | | | the Hunting Act 2003.” | | |
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Money | |
15 The Lord Chancellor— | |
(a) may pay sums by way of remuneration, allowances and expenses to | |
a person appointed under any of paragraphs 1 to 5, | |
(b) may pay sums by way of or in respect of a pension to a person | 5 |
appointed under any of paragraphs 1 to 5, | |
(c) may make staff and other facilities available to the Tribunal, and | |
(d) may pay sums by way of allowances and expenses to an expert | |
witness called under paragraph 12. | |
Schedule 3 | 10 |
Section 49 | |
Consequential Amendments | |
Game Act 1831 (c. 32) | |
1 In section 35 of the Game Act 1831 (provision about trespassers: exceptions) | |
the following words shall cease to have effect: “to any person hunting or | |
coursing upon any lands with hounds or greyhounds, and being in fresh | 15 |
pursuit of any deer, hare or fox already started upon any other land, nor”. | |
Game Licences Act 1860 (c. 90) | |
2 In section 5 of the Game Licences Act 1860 (exceptions) exceptions 3 and 4 | |
(hares and deer) shall cease to have effect. | |
Protection of Animals Act 1911 (c. 27) | 20 |
3 In section 1(3)(b) of the Protection of Animals Act 1911 (offence of cruelty: | |
exceptions) a reference to coursing or hunting shall not include a reference | |
to— | |
(a) participation in a hare coursing event (within the meaning of section | |
8 of this Act), or | 25 |
(b) the coursing or hunting of a wild mammal with a dog (within the | |
meaning of this Act). | |
Protection of Badgers Act 1992 (c. 51) | |
4 Section 8(4) to (9) of the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 (exception for | |
hunting) shall cease to have effect. | 30 |
Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996 (c. 3) | |
5 For the purposes of section 2 of the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996 | |
(offences: exceptions) the hunting of a wild mammal with a dog (within the | |
meaning of this Act) shall be treated as lawful if and only if it is registered or | |
exempt hunting within the meaning of this Act. | 35 |
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