Hunting Act

February 2005

The Hunting Act was passed by Parliament in November 2004 and become law throughout England and Wales from 18 February 2005. This is what gamekeepers need to know:

Hunting

Under the new Act, “ a person commits an offence if he hunts a wild mammal with a dog, unless his hunting is exempt.” (Details of what is ‘exempt' are given below).

A person is deemed to be hunting if he “ engages or participates in the pursuit of a wild mammal, and one or more dogs are employed in that pursuit (whether or not by him and whether or not under his control or direction) ”.

The Act defines a wild mammal to include any mammal living in the wild and any wild mammal bred or kept in captivity and then released. Rats and rabbits, however, are excluded and a hare may be hunted by any number of dogs if it has been shot.

Exempt Hunting

In addition to the exemptions in the above paragraph, the following will still be allowed:

Up to two dogs may be used to “stalk or flush” a wild mammal from cover for defined purposes. These include: the protection of gamebirds, wild birds, fisheries, crops and livestock; obtaining meat; and field trials. To qualify as exempt, the above activities must always be done with permission, and “ reasonable steps must be taken for the purpose of ensuring that as soon as possible after being found or flushed out the wild mammal is shot dead by a competent person. ” Each dog used in the stalking or flushing out must be kept under sufficiently close control to ensure that it does not prevent or obstruct the shooting of the mammal in question.
One dog at a time (only) may be used below ground to “ stalk or flush ” a wild mammal for the sole purpose of preventing or reducing serious damage to gamebirds or wild birds being kept or preserved for shooting. In this case, the person using the dog must carry written permission (or evidence that he himself is the landowner), which he must produce if asked by a constable. This exemption also requires that all the following conditions are met:
1. reasonable steps are taken for the purpose of ensuring that as soon as possible after being found the wild mammal is flushed out from below ground,
2. reasonable steps are taken for the purpose of ensuring that as soon as possible after being flushed out from below ground the wild mammal is shot dead by a competent person,
3. in particular, the dog is brought under sufficiently close control to ensure that it does not prevent or obstruct achievement of the objective in paragraph (b),
4. reasonable steps are taken for the purpose of preventing injury to the dog, and
5. the manner in which the dog is used complies with any code of practice which is issued or approved for the purpose of this paragraph by the Secretary of State.

Up to two dogs may be used to hunt a wild mammal that the hunter reasonably believes may be injured. Such hunting must be done with permission, must not extend below ground and must end with appropriate action being taken to relieve the animal's suffering. The mammal must not be injured for the purpose of allowing such hunting.

There are other minor exemptions to the ban on hunting but these concern research purposes and the recovery of escaped mammals and they are not thought to be relevant to gamekeepers.

Assisting Hunting

A person commits an offence if he knowingly permits land which belongs to him to be entered or used in the course of the commission of a hunting offence.

Hare Coursing

The Act also specifically bans hare coursing events, defined as “ a competition in which dogs are, by the use of live hares, assessed as to skill in hunting hares. ”

An offence is also committed if a person knowingly facilitates a hare coursing event, or permits land which belongs to him to be used for the purposes of a hare coursing event.

Penalties

All the offences under the Hunting Act are punishable by a fine of up to £5,000. Dogs, vehicles and equipment used in a hunting offence may be confiscated and, if appropriate, destroyed. Anyone refusing to pay a fine or comply with a confiscation order can ultimately be sent to prison.

The NGO's Position on the Hunting Act

The NGO campaigned vigorously against the hunting ban, attending all marches and demonstrations, lobbying ministers and civil servants, providing written evidence for all MP's and Peers and in particular pointing out the potential impact the ban would have on gamekeeping activities. In a statement issued on the day the Hunting Act was passed, the NGO said:

" Despite all the Government's pledges not to interfere with shooting, and despite asking our advice on the use of dogs in gamekeeping, they have ended up with a law that will undoubtedly make the control of foxes, mink and stoats by gamekeepers much more difficult in many areas. The Hunting Act also raises issues about the legality of certain common practices in shooting, such as the use of dogs to flush mammals. Bad legislation will have bad consequences for wildlife management and Britain's gamekeepers will fight to have this dreadful legislation reversed."

Disclaimer and Further Information

Whilst this summary has been prepared by the NGO in good faith, it is not a legal document and we can accept no liability arising from it.

The full text of the Hunting Act 2004 can be purchased from The Stationery Office Limited on 0870 600 5522 or e-mail: customer.service@tso.co.uk or viewed free on www.hmso.gov.uk