Provisions & exemptions
- What exactly does the Act do?
- What are the main provisions of the Act?
- What are the exemptions?
- What is 'hunting' under the Act?
- Is hunting different from chasing away?
- Is it true that landowners can be fined if hunting takes place on their land without their consent??
What exactly does the Act do?
The Hunting Act makes it an offence to hunt a wild mammal with dogs, apart from the tightly-drawn exemptions set out in the Schedule to the Act. The ban covers the hunting with dogs of all wild mammals, including fox, deer, hare and mink. The Act also completely bans hare coursing.
What are the main provisions of the Act?
The Act makes it an offence for anyone to hunt a wild mammal with a dog, subject to the exemptions in Schedule 1 of the Act. It also makes it an offence for a person to knowingly permit their land or dogs to be used for such hunting. It outlaws hare coursing, and makes it an offence to participate in, attend, facilitate or allow dogs to be used in such events.
The Act gives the police powers to arrest anybody they reasonably suspect to have committed, be committing or be about to commit certain offences. It provides that a person found guilty of an offence is liable on conviction in a magistrates’ court to a fine of up to £5,000. It also entitles the police to stop and search persons, vehicles, animals or possessions; and to seize vehicles, dogs or possessions for use as evidence in prosecutions.
The Act also gives the Courts powers to order persons convicted to forfeit relevant dogs, vehicles or hunting articles; and provides for these items to be destroyed, disposed of or returned.
What are the exemptions?
The exemptions from the offence of illegal hunting permit the following types of hunting:
- Stalking and flushing out
- Use of a dog below ground, in the course of stalking and flushing out, to protect birds being kept or preserved for shooting
- Hunting rats and rabbits
- Retrieval of hares which have been shot
- Falconry
- Recapture of wild mammals
- Rescue of wild mammals
- Research and observation
Some commentators have suggested that there is some confusion about these exemptions, but they are set out very clearly in Schedule 1 to the Act. The intention has always been to make it very simple for people who want to obey the law to know what they can and can’t do. These exemptions are subject to strict conditions (eg on the number of dogs which can be used in stalking and flushing out (two) and on obtaining permission to carry out the activity on the land on which it is to take place). The Schedule also requires that anyone intending to rely on the stalking and flushing out exemption must ensure that animals flushed out are shot as soon as possible afterwards by a competent person. These stringent conditions are intended to prevent abuse of the exemptions.
What is Hunting under the Act?
While it is ultimately for the courts to define what constitutes hunting in the light of cases brought before them, hunting should be understood in its ordinary English meaning, which includes searching for wild mammals, chasing them, or pursuing them with the intention of catching or killing them. The Act specifically relates to hunting with dogs. If no dogs are used, the Act does not apply. Hunting is an intentional activity, and there can be no such thing as accidental hunting. The Act makes clear that hunting with dogs includes engaging alone or participating with others in the pursuit of a wild mammal where a dog is used in that pursuit.
Is hunting different from chasing away?
The Act deliberately does not define hunting with dogs because the term should be understood in its ordinary English meaning, which includes using dogs to search for wild mammals, chase them, or pursue them with the intention of catching or killing them. The deliberate use of dogs to chase a wild mammal, even if there is no intention of catching it, is hunting and as such is prohibited by the Act. This may include the wilful failure to prevent dogs from chasing wild mammals.
Is it true that landowners can be fined if hunting takes place on their land without their consent?
To commit an offence, the owner or occupier must permit his land to be used for what he knows to be unlawful hunting. Like the act of hunting itself, allowing land to be used for this purpose cannot be accidental or unknowing. It is possible that a failure to act where it is clearly known that a specific person intends to act unlawfully may amount to giving permission, and thus be an offence. Ultimately, it will be for the courts to decide in any particular case whether the owner or occupier of the land gave permission for what he knew would be unlawful hunting on his land. The courts are very experienced in determining questions such as whether on the facts a person's statements or actions amount to the giving of permission.
Landowners concerned that they might be prosecuted for what somebody does on their land without their permission do not need to go to extreme lengths to appear to protect themselves, for example by barring the public from land to which they have previously had access. They might, however, wish to take reasonable steps to define the activities that they are prepared to tolerate on their land, such as dog walking, rabbiting, officially-recognised drag hunting etc. They should also ensure that they do not interfere with established rights of way.
Page last modified:
10 January, 2006
Page published: 28 September, 2004