The Regulatory Reform (Deer) (England and Wales) Order 2007
| Year | 2007 |
2007 No. 2183
regulatory reform, england and wales
ANIMALS, ENGLAND AND WALESDEER
The Regulatory Reform (Deer) (England and Wales) Order 2007
Made 25th July 2007
Coming into force 1st October 2007
This Order is made by the Secretary of State in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 1 and 4(3) and (6) of the Regulatory Reform Act 2001 (“the Act”)1.
For the purposes of section 1(5) of the Act, this Order is made with the agreement of the Welsh Ministers2.
For the purposes of section 3(1) of the Act, the Secretary of State is of the opinion that this Order does not remove any necessary protection or prevent any person from continuing to exercise any right or freedom which he might reasonably expect to continue to exercise.
For the purposes of section 3(2) of the Act, the Secretary of State is of the opinion, in relation to any burden created by this Order, that—
(a) the provisions of this Order, taken as a whole, strike a fair balance between the public interest and the interests of the persons affected by the burden, and
(b) the extent to which this Order removes or reduces one or more burdens, or has other beneficial effects for persons affected by the burdens imposed by the existing law, makes it desirable for the Order to be made.
The Secretary of State has consulted in accordance with section 5(1) of the Act3.
The Secretary of State has laid a document before Parliament containing his proposals for this Order in accordance with section 6(1) of the Act.
The period for Parliamentary consideration referred to in section 8(1) of the Act has expired.
In accordance with section 8(4) of the Act, the Secretary of State has had regard to the representations made during that period and in particular to the Fourth Report of Session 2006-07 of the House of Commons Regulatory Reform Committee entitled “Proposal for the Regulatory Reform (Deer) (England and Wales) Order 2007”4and to the Fifth Report of Session 2006-07 of the House of Lords Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee5.
In accordance with section 4(2) of the Act, the Secretary of State has laid a draft of this Order before Parliament, with a statement as required by section 8(5) of that Act.
The draft has been approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.
Citation, commencement, extent and interpretation
1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Regulatory Reform (Deer) (England and Wales) Order 2007 and shall come into force on 1st October 2007.
(2) This Order extends to England and Wales only.
(3) In this Order “the 1991 Act” means the Deer Act 19916.
Use of prohibited weapons and other articles
2. In section 4 of the 1991 Act (use of prohibited weapons and other articles), in subsection (4)(a) after “deer,”, insert “when the vehicle is moving or when its engine is running,”.
General exceptions to certain provisions of the Deer Act 1991
3.—(1) Section 6 of the 1991 Act (general exceptions to certain provisions of this Act) is amended as follows.
(2) After subsection (2), insert—
“2A A person shall not be guilty of an offence under section 2 or section 3 above by reason of taking or killing a deer that he reasonably believes—
(a) has been deprived in any way (other than by an unlawful taking or killing by that person) of a female deer on which it was dependent; or
(b) is about to be deprived, by death from disease or a lawful taking or killing, of a female deer on which it is dependent.”.
(3) For subsection (4), substitute—
“4 A person shall not be guilty of an offence under section 4(1) or (2) above by reason of the use of any reasonable means for the purpose of killing any deer if he reasonably believes that the deer has been so seriously injured, otherwise than by his unlawful act, or is in such condition, that to kill it is an act of mercy.”.
(4) After subsection (4), insert—
“4A In subsection (4) above, “any reasonable means” means any method of killing a deer that can reasonably be expected to result in rapid loss of consciousness and death and which is appropriate in all the circumstances (including in particular what the deer is doing, its size, its distance from the closest position safely attainable by the person attempting to kill the deer and its position in relation to vegetative cover).”.
(5) At the end, insert—
“6 A person shall not be guilty of an offence under section 4(2)(a) above if he uses for the purpose of taking or killing or injuring any Chinese water deer (Hydropotes inermis) or muntjac deer (Muntiacus reevesi)—
(a) a rifle having a calibre of not less than .220 inches and a muzzle energy of not less than 1,356 joules (1000 foot pounds), and
(b) a soft-nosed or hollow-nosed bullet weighing not less than 3.24 grammes (50 grains).”.
Licences
4.—(1) Section 8 of the 1991 Act (exceptions for persons licensed by Natural England or the Countryside Council for Wales)7is amended as follows.
(2) For the heading, substitute “Exceptions for licensed persons”.
(3) After subsection (3), insert—
“3A A licence may be granted to any person by—
(a) Natural England, in relation to any land in England, or
(b) the Welsh Ministers, in relation to any land in Wales,
exempting that person from section 2 above in relation to any species and description of deer.
3B A licence may be granted under subsection (3A) above for the purpose of—
(a) preserving public health or public safety, or
(b) conserving the natural heritage.
3C Before granting a licence under subsection (3A) above in relation to any land the licensor must be satisfied that—
(a) in the case of a licence required for the purpose of preserving public health or public safety, there is a serious risk of deer of the species and description to which the application relates putting public health or public safety at risk;
(b) in the case of a licence required for the purpose of conserving the natural heritage, there is a serious risk of deer of the species and description to which the application relates causing deterioration of the natural heritage;
(c) to achieve the purpose in question there is no satisfactory alternative to taking and killing the deer of the species and description to which the application relates during the close season prescribed by Schedule 1 to this Act;
(d) the applicant has a right of entry to the land for the purpose of taking or killing deer under the licence; and
(e) if the licence is to relate to red, roe or fallow deer, the taking or killing to be authorised by the licence will not compromise the ability of that species to maintain the population of deer in question on a long-term basis within its natural range in the numbers which exist after the taking or killing has taken place.
3D A licence may be granted to any person by—
(a) Natural England in relation to any land in England, or
(b) the Welsh Ministers, in relation to any land in Wales,
exempting that person from section 3 above in relation to any species and description of deer.
3E A licence may be granted under subsection (3D) above for the purpose of—
(a) preserving public health or public safety,
(b) conserving the natural heritage, or
(c) preventing serious damage to property.
3F Before granting a licence under subsection (3D) above in relation to any land the licensor must be satisfied that—
(a) in the case of a licence required for the purpose of preserving public health or public safety, there is a serious risk of deer of the species and description to which the application relates putting public health or public safety at risk;
(b) in the case of a licence required for the purpose of conserving the natural heritage, there is a serious risk of deer of the species and description to which the application relates causing deterioration of the natural heritage;
(c) in the case of a licence required for the purpose of preventing serious damage to property, property on the land has been seriously damaged in the year preceding the licence application;
(d) to achieve the purpose in question there is no satisfactory alternative to taking and killing the deer of the species and description to which the application relates between the expiry of the first hour after sunset and the beginning of the last hour before...
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