Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002
| Year | 2002 |
Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act2002
asp 6
[15th March 2002]
The Bill for this Act of the Scottish Parliament was passed by the Parliament on 13th February 2002 and received Royal Assent onAn Act of the Scottish Parliament to protect wild mammals from being hunted with dogs; and for connected purposes.
1 Offences
1 Offences
(1) A person who deliberately hunts a wild mammal with a dog commits an offence.
(2) It is an offence for an owner or occupier of land knowingly to permit another person to enter or use it to commit an offence under subsection (1).
(3) It is an offence for an owner of, or person having responsibility for, a dog knowingly to permit another person to use it to commit an offence under subsection (1).
2 Exception: stalking and flushing from cover
2 Exception: stalking and flushing from cover
(1) A person who is, or who has the permission of, the owner or lawful occupier of the land on which the stalking, searching or flushing referred to in this subsection takes place does not commit an offence under section 1(1) by using a dog under control to stalk a wild mammal, or flush it from cover (including an enclosed space within rocks, or other secure cover) above ground for the purpose of—
(a) protecting livestock, ground-nesting birds, timber, fowl (including wild fowl), game birds or crops from attack by wild mammals;
(b) providing food for consumption by a living creature, including a person;
(c) protecting human health;
(d) preventing the spread of disease;
(e) controlling the number of a pest species; or
(f) controlling the number of a particular species to safeguard the welfare of that species,
but only if that person acts to ensure that, once the target wild mammal is found or emerges from cover, it is shot, or killed by a bird of prey, once it is safe to do so.
(2) Where a person is using a dog in connection with the despatch of a wild mammal, being of a pest species, with the intention of flushing the wild mammal from cover or from below ground in order that it may be shot or killed by lawful means, that person does not commit an offence under section 1(1) by virtue of the dog killing that wild mammal in the course of that activity.
(3) A person does not commit an offence under section 1(1) by using a dog under control to flush a fox or mink from below ground or by using a dog under control to flush a fox from an enclosed space within rocks or other secure cover above ground, but only if that person—
(a) does so for one or more of the purposes specified in paragraphs (a) to (f) of subsection (1);
(b) takes reasonable steps to ensure that the fox or mink is flushed as soon as reasonably possible after it is located and shot as soon as possible after it is flushed;
(c) takes all reasonable steps to prevent injury to the dog including steps to prevent the dog becoming trapped underground and, if it does become trapped underground, steps to ensure it is rescued as soon as is practicable;
(d) is in possession of a firearm for which the person holds a valid firearms or shotgun certificate; and
(e) either—
(i) is the owner or lawful occupier of the land on which the activity takes place; or
(ii) has the permission of the owner or lawful occupier of that land to undertake that activity.
3 Exception: use of a dog in connection with falconry and shooting
3 Exception: use of a dog in connection with falconry and shooting
Where an occupier of land (or a person acting with the occupier's permission) is using a bird of prey, or a firearm or shotgun, for the purpose of sport, that person does not commit an offence under section 1(1) by using a dog under control to stalk a wild mammal, or flush it from cover above ground, for the purpose of providing quarry for the sport, but only if—
(a) that person acts to ensure that, once a wild mammal is found or emerges from cover, it is shot, or killed by a bird of prey, as soon as possible;
(b) where a firearm or shotgun is used, that person holds a valid firearms or shotgun certificate or a valid visitor's firearm or shot gun permit; and
(c) where a wild mammal is shot and injured, that person takes all reasonable steps to retrieve it and, once retrieved, to kill it as humanely as possible.
4 Exception: search by authorised person
4 Exception: search by authorised person
(1) An authorised person does not commit an offence under section 1(1) by using a dog to search for, or catch, a wild mammal if that person does so with no intention of harming the wild mammal.
(2) In subsection (1) ‘authorised person’ means—
(a) an officer of a local authority acting in pursuance of any function of the local authority;
(b) any person authorised by such an officer to search for, or catch, a wild mammal; and
(c) a constable.
5 Exception: retrieval and location
5 Exception: retrieval and location
(1) A person does not commit an offence under section 1(1) by using a dog under control in order to—
(a) retrieve a hare which has been shot;
(b) locate a wild mammal which has escaped, or been released, from captivity (but only if that person acts to ensure that the mammal is captured or shot once it is located); or
(c) retrieve or locate a wild mammal which that person reasonably believes is seriously injured or orphaned (but only if that person acts to ensure that the mammal, once located, is captured, treated or killed as humanely as possible in order to relieve its suffering).
(2) Subsection (1)(b) does not apply if the mammal—
(a) is a fox or hare;
(b) is a deer, boar or mink, unless it has escaped from a farm or zoo; or
(c) has been raised or released for the purpose of being hunted.
(3) A person who is an occupier of land (or is acting with the occupier's permission) does not commit an offence under section 1(1) by using a dog under control below ground on that land in order to locate a fox which that person reasonably believes is orphaned, but only if that person takes reasonable steps to ensure that the fox, once located, is despatched by a single dog or otherwise killed as humanely as possible.
6 Excepted activities
6 Excepted activities
(1) A person does not commit an offence under section 1(1) by participating in an excepted activity.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), an ‘excepted activity’ is an activity excepted under any provision of this Act, and such other activity as the Scottish Ministers may, by order made by statutory instrument, specify.
(3) No order is to be made under subsection (2) unless it has been laid in draft before, and...
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