Proposal for the Draft Regulatory Reform
(Deer) (England and Wales) Order 2007
Introduction
67. This is a "first stage" proposal
laid before Parliament on 18 December 2006 under section 6 of
the Regulatory Reform Act 2001. An explanatory statement by the
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has been laid
with the proposal in accordance with section 6(2) of that Act[2].
68. The purpose of this proposal is to amend
the Deer Act 1991 ("the 1991 Act", a consolidation Act),
in particular to reduce bureaucracy for those managing deer and
remove restrictions on their activities that do not afford necessary
protections to deer.
69. The 1991 Act is the primary piece of legislation
covering the management and conservation of deer in England and
Wales. The 1991 Act:
- regulates the killing of
deer by addressing when, how and by whom deer may be killed;
- protects deer by setting periods of the
year when deer may not be killed ("close seasons");
- regulates the weapons that may be used to
kill deer; and
- regulates the sale of venison and addresses
poaching.
The 1991 Act has remained substantively unchanged
since enactment but, as a result of the increasing wild deer population
and the consequent increase in reported problems, DEFRA and the
Forestry Commission for England undertook a policy consultation
in 2004 (preliminary to the 2006 consultation on specific proposals),
which drew widespread interest and support for changes to deer
legislation to assist the better management of deer populations.
70. There are 12 proposals: eight would provide
deer managers with more effective tools for population control
and four would improve deer welfare. The proposals are:
PROPOSALS INTENDED TO MAKE DEER POPULATION CONTROL
MORE EFFECTIVE
Proposal A Allow .22 centre-fire rifles to be
used for shooting smaller species of deer;
Proposal D Enable licensed taking or killing
during the close season to prevent deterioration of the natural
heritage;
Proposal E Enable licensed taking or killing
during the close season to preserve public health and safety;
Proposal F Enable licensed taking or killing
at night to prevent deterioration of the natural heritage;
Proposal G Enable licensed taking or killing
at night to preserve public health and safety;
Proposal H Enable licensed taking or killing
at night to prevent serious damage to property;
Proposal I Shorten the close season for all female
deer to help allow better control of population numbers where
necessary, without increasing the welfare risks for dependent
young; and
Proposal L Amend the meaning of mechanically
propelled vehicle in the 1991 Act to permit discharging firearms
or projecting missiles from a mechanically propelled vehicle that
is stationary.
PROPOSALS INTENDED TO IMPROVE DEER WELFARE
Proposal B Allow any reasonable means of humanely
despatching deer that are suffering due to injuries or disease;
Proposal C Allow dependent deer to be taken or
killed if they have been deprived of, or are about to be deprived
of, their mother, at any time of year regardless of the close
season or the time of day;
Proposal J Introduce a close season for Chinese
Water deer from 15 March to 31 October inclusive; and
Proposal K Ensure the close season applies to
hybrids of a species as well as the parent species.
Tests in the Regulatory Reform Act 2001
71. We are satisfied that, for each of the elements
of this proposal, the requirements of the Regulatory Reform Act
2001 have been met.
Other considerations
72. At 6 Articles, the proposed order cannot
be said to be "large and controversial" within the Committee's
definition set out in our 18th Report (2004-05) and we do not
consider it to be an inappropriate use of the 2001 Act. We wish
however to make two observations in relation to the responses
to the consultation.
73. The four "welfare" proposals each
received support from at least 95% of those who responded to the
consultation and six of the "control" proposals received
support from at least 70% of respondents. In contrast, the remaining
two "control" proposals, F and H (to enable licensed
taking or killing of deer at night to prevent deterioration of
the natural heritage, and to prevent serious damage to property),
received 62% and 61% support and some of those in favour considered
the proposal an option of last resort.
74. Article 5 substitutes new tables in Schedule
1 to the 1991 Act to reduce the close season for existing species
of deer and to introduce a close season for Chinese water deer.
The requirement to observe a close season for Chinese water deer
will curtail any existing right to take or kill such deer at any
time. In our opinion this new restriction does not fail to comply
with section 3(1)(b) of the Regulatory Reform Act 2001. The new
restriction could however have been introduced using the power
at section 2(4) of the 1991 Act. This would have meant that, if
the House wished to object to this element of the scheme, it could
do so without objecting to the rest of the regulatory reform order.
75. We do not wish to express a view on the detail
of the policy, considering it our role to report on appropriateness
overall and on whether the tests set by the Regulatory Reform
Act 2001 have been met. We draw these issues to the attention
of the House so that the House might resolve, if it wishes, that
the draft order be laid in a different form to this proposal.
Conclusion
76. We consider that the proposal for the draft
Regulatory Reform (Deer) (England and Wales) Order 2007 meets
the requirements of the Regulatory Reform Act 2001 and is appropriate
to be made under it.
2 Members of the House may obtain both the proposal
and explanatory statement from the Printed Paper Office. Both
documents are also available at:
www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/regulation/reform/orders/proposals.asp Back
| 
