Deer (Scotland) Act 1959 (repealed 18.11.1996)

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30 Disposal of deer seized under the Act.

Where any deer seized under this Part of this Act is liable to forfeiture the person by whom it is seized may sell it and the net proceeds of the sale shall be liable to forfeiture in the same manner as the deer sold: Provided that no person shall be subject to any liability on account of his neglect or failure to exercise the powers conferred on him by this section.

31 Offences by bodies corporate.

(1) When an offence against this Act or any order made thereunder which has been committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary, or other similar officer of the body corporate, or any person purporting to act in such capacity, he, as well as the body corporate, shall be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly. (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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33 Exemptions for certain acts.

(1) A person shall not be guilty of any offence against this Act or any order made thereunder in respect of any act done for the purpose of preventing suffering by an injured or diseased deer, or by any deer calf , fawn or kiddeprived , or about to be deprived, of its mother (2)Where a person performs an act under the authority of or at the request of the Commission in pursuance of section 6 of this Act or in pursuance of a control agreement or scheme he shall not by reason of that act be liable to be proceeded against for an offence against this Act, except that— (a) where the person is an officer or servant of the Commission performing an act as aforesaid in pursuance of the said section 6, and the act constitutes an offence against section 23(2) of this Act, or (b) where the person is any such officer or servant performing an act as aforesaid in pursuance of a control agreement or scheme, and the act constitutes an offence against either subsection (1) or (2) of the said section 23, or (c) in the case of any other person performing an act for either of the purposes mentioned in the two last foregoing paragraphs, if the act constitutes an offence against either of the said subsections, he shall be so liable ; and for the purposes of paragraphs (a) and (b) above “officer or servant of the Commission” includes any person engaged by the Commission under a contract for services. (3) Notwithstanding section 21(5) of this Act, or anything in any agreement between an occupier of agricultural land or of enclosed woodlands and the owner thereof, it shall be lawful for— (a) the owner in person, provided that he is duly authorised in writing by the occupier for that purpose; (b) the owner’s servants in his ordinary service, provided that they are duly authorised in writing by the occupier for that purpose; (c) the occupier in person; (d) the servants of the occupier in his ordinary service on the land or other persons normally resident on the land provided that they are duly authorised in writing by the occupier for that purpose; or (e) any other person approved in writing by the Commission as a fit and competent person for the purpose who has been duly authorised in writing by the occupier for that purpose to take or kill, and to sell or otherwise dispose of any deer found, as the case may be, on— (i) arable land, improved permanent pasture (other than moorland) and land which has been regenerated so as to be able to make a significant contribution to the productivity of a holding which forms part of that agricultural land; or (ii) on enclosed woodland, where the occupier has reasonable ground for believing that serious damage will be caused to crops, pasture or human or animal foodstuffs on that agricultural land, or to that woodland, if the deer are not taken or killed. (3A) Any authority given under subsection (3) above shall expire— (a) at the end of such period as the occupier may specify in it; (b) when a person to whom paragraph (b) or (d) of that subsection applies ceases to be normally resident or in the owner’s or, as the case may be, occupier’s ordinary service; (c) where paragraph (e) of that subsection applies, at the end of the period specified in the Commission’s approval; or (d) if the occupier revokes the authority. (3B) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (4A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (4B) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (4C) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (4D) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (4E) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

33A Authorisation by Commission of certain acts.

(1) Where a person does any act, in accordance with an authorisation given under subsection (2) or (3) below, which would otherwise be an offence under subsection (1) or (3A) of section 23 of this Act, he shall not be guilty of an offence under the said section 23. (2) Notwithstanding anything in any agreement between an occupier of agricultural land or of woodland and the owner thereof, but subject to subsections (7) to (10) below, the Commission may authorise such an occupier or any person nominated in writing by such an occupier to take or kill, and to sell or otherwise dispose of, any deer on any such land or woodland during the period specified in section 23(1) of this Act, where they are satisfied that the taking or killing is necessary to prevent serious damage to crops, pasture, human or animal foodstuffs, or to woodland, and no other means of control which might reasonably be adopted in the circumstances would be adequate. (3) Subject to subsections (7) to (10) below, the Commission may authorise the owner of any land which deer are on, or any person nominated in writing by him, to use any vehicle to drive deer in order to take or kill them for the purposes of deer management; and, for the purposes of this section— “deer management” does not include driving deer in the course of any sporting activity, and “vehicle” does not include any aircraft or hovercraft. (4) Where a person does any act, in accordance with an authorisation given under subsection (5) or (6) below, which would otherwise be an offence under section 21(5) of this Act, he shall not be guilty of that offence. (5) Without prejudice to section 33(3) of this Act, notwithstanding anything in any agreement between an occupier of land and the owner thereof and subject to subsections (7) to (10) below, the Commission may authorise the owner or occupier of any land or any person nominated in writing by either of them to take or kill, and to sell or otherwise dispose of, any deer found on that land during the period specified in relation to that species and sex of deer in an order under section 21 of this Act, where they are satisfied that the taking or killing is necessary— (a) to prevent serious damage to any unenclosed woodland which forms part of that land, or serious damage, whether direct or indirect, to the natural heritage generally; or (b) in the interests of public safety, and no other means of control which might reasonably be adopted in the circumstances would be adequate. (6) Subject to subsections (7) to (10) below, the Commission may, for any scientific purpose, authorise any person to take or kill deer during the period specified in relation to that species and sex of deer in an order under section 21 of this Act. (7) The Commission shall not grant an authorisation under subsection (2), (3), (5) or (6) above unless they are satisfied that the person concerned is a fit and competent person to receive an authorisation under that subsection. (8) An authorisation shall— (a) be in writing; and (b) specify the duration of its validity. (9) No authorisation shall be granted under subsection (2) or (3) above unless a relevant code has been published under subsection (11) below, and any such authorisation shall contain a condition that the person concerned shall comply with the relevant provisions of any such code. (10) An authorisation may contain such conditions, other than that mentioned in subsection (9) above, as the Commission thinks fit. (11) The Commission shall prepare and publish, and from time to time revise, a code of practice for— (a) night shooting; and (b) the use of vehicles for the purposes of deer management, to which they shall have regard when exercising their power under subsection (2) or, as the case may be, (3) above.

33B Information to be supplied to owner of certain land.

– The occupier of any agricultural land or enclosed or unenclosed woodland shall supply, as soon as practicable after being requested to do so by the owner of the land, information to the owner as to the number, sex and species of deer taken or killed by him or by any other person, other than the owner or his servants in ordinary service, authorised or nominated by him under or by virtue of section 33(3) or section 33A(2) or (5) of this Act within the period of twelve months immediately preceding the request.

34 Application of Act to the Crown.

This Act shall apply to land an interest in which belongs to Her Majesty in right of the Crown and land an interest in which belongs to a government department or is held in trust for Her Majesty for the purposes of a government department; but in its application to any land an interest in which belongs or is held as aforesaid this Act shall have effect subject to such modifications as may be prescribed by regulations made by the Secretary of State under this Act.

34A Farmed deer.

(1) Subject to subsections (2) to (4) below, this Act does not apply in respect of farmed deer. (2) The following provisions of this Act apply as respects farmed deer— (a) subsection (2) of section 23, and subsections (3) and (5) of that section in so far as they apply in relation to offences committed against subsection (2); (b) section 23A; (c) section 25AA; (d) Part IIIA; and (e) section 35A. (3) The provisions of Part IV of this Act shall apply in respect of an offence committed by virtue of subsection (2) above. (4) In this section “farmed deer” means deer of any species which are on agricultural land enclosed by a deer-proof barrier and are kept on that land by any person as livestock.

35 Orders, regulations, etc.

(1) Subject to section 23A(4) of this Act, any order or regulations made under this Act shall be embodied in a statutory instrument which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution by either House of Parliament. (2) Any order made under this Act may be varied or revoked by a subsequent order made in the like manner.

35A Interpretation.

(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires— “agricultural land” has the meaning given by the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 1991; “ammunition” and “firearm” have the meanings respectively given in the Firearms Act 1968; “animal foodstuffs”, for the purposes of sections 33(3) and 33A(2) of this Act, includes foodstuffs intended for consumption by farmed deer; “control agreement”, “control area” and “control scheme” have the meanings respectively given by section 7 of this Act; “deer” means fallow deer, red deer, roe deer and sika deer and any other species of deer specified in an order made under subsection (2) below and includes any hybrid of those species and, where appropriate, the carcase of any deer or any part thereof; “deer management” includes the management of deer for sporting purposes; “deer proof barrier” means a barrier which will, having regard to the character and nature of the land, prevent the entry of deer on to or, as the case may be, the escape of deer from any land; “enclosed” means enclosed by a stock-proof fence or other barrier, and “unenclosed” shall be construed accordingly; “fallow deer” means deer of the speciesDama dama; “farmed deer” has the meaning given in section 34A of this Act; “functions” includes powers and duties; “land” does not include a dwelling house or any yard, garden, outhouses and pertinents belonging thereto or usually enjoyed therewith; “livestock” has the meaning given by the Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1968 and, for the purposes of sections 6 and 7 of this Act, includes farmed deer; “natural heritage” includes flora and fauna, geological and physiographical features and the natural beauty and amenity of the countryside; “occupier” in relation to any land includes any tenant or sub-tenant, whether in actual occupation of the land or not; “owner” in relation to any land includes any person who under the Land Clauses Acts would be enabled to sell and convey the land to promoters of an undertaking; “red deer” means deer of the speciesCervus elaphus; “roe deer” means deer of the speciesCapreolus capreolus; “sika deer” means deer of the speciesCervus nippon; “species” includes any hybrid of different species of deer; “take”, in relation to deer, means take alive, and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly; “vehicle” includes an aircraft, hovercraft or boat; and “woodland” means land on which trees are grown, whether or not commercially, and includes any such trees and any vegetation planted or growing naturally among such trees on that land. (2) The Secretary of State may, by order made by statutory instrument, specify other species of deer which are to be “deer” for the purposes of subsection (1) above.

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37 Short title, extent and commencement.

(1) This Act may be cited as the Deer (Scotland) Act 1959. (2) This Act, , shall extend to Scotland only. (3) This Act, except where otherwise expressly provided, shall come into force at the expiry of one month beginning with the date of its passing.

FIRST SCHEDULE Provisions as to the Red Deer Commission

Constitution of the Commission 1 The Commission shall be a body corporate and shall have a common seal. 2 Every member of the Commission shall hold and vacate office in accordance with the terms of the instrument under which he is appointed, but notwithstanding anything in such an instrument any member of the Commission may resign his office by a notice given under his hand to the Secretary of State, and a member of the Commission who ceases to hold office shall be eligible for reappointment to the Commission. 2A If the Secretary of State is satisfied that the chairman or a member of the Commission— (a) has had his estate sequestrated, has been adjudged bankrupt, has made an arrangement with his creditors, or has granted a trust deed for his creditors or made a composition contract; (b) is incapacitated by reason of physical or mental illness; (c) has been absent from meetings of the Commission for a period of more than 3 consecutive months without the permission of the Commission or of the Secretary of State; or (d) is otherwise unable or unfit to discharge the functions of a member of the Commission, or is unsuitable to continue as the chairman, the Secretary of State shall have power to remove him from his said office. 2B Where a person ceases to be a member of the Commission otherwise than on the expiry of his term of office and it appears to the Secretary of State that there are special circumstances which make it right for that person to receive compensation, the Secretary of State may make to that person a payment of such amount as the Secretary of State may . . . determine. 2C The Secretary of State may make such provision, if any, as he may . . . determine for the payment of pensions to or in respect of members of the Commission. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 4 The Secretary of State— (a) shall pay to— (i) the Chairman of the Commission such remuneration and such allowances; and (ii) the other members of the Commission such allowances; and (b) may pay to the other members of the Commission such remuneration, as he may determine. 5 The Commission may pay to the members of any panel appointed in pursuance of section two of this Act the like allowances as are payable by the Secretary of State to members of the Commission under the last foregoing paragraph. Meetings and Proceedings of the Commission 6 The quorum of the Commission shall be five or such larger number as the Commission may from time to time determine. 7 The proceedings of the Commission shall not be invalidated by any vacancy in the membership of the Commission or by any defect in the appointment of any member thereof. 8 If at any meeting of the Commission the votes are equally divided on any question, the person acting as chairman of the meeting shall have a second or casting vote. 9 Subject to the foregoing provisions of this Schedule, the Commission shall have power to regulate their own procedure and that of any panel appointed by them. Office, Officers and Servants 10 The Commission shall have an office at which communications and notices will be received. 11 The Secretary of State may provide the services of such officers and servants as the Commission may require. Instruments executed or issued by the Commission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

SECOND SCHEDULE Provisions as to control schemes

Part I Procedure for making control schemes 1 Where the Commission decide to make a control scheme they shall— (a) serve on every owner and every occupier of land on whom the scheme proposes to impose any requirement a copy of the said scheme, together with a notice stating that any such owner or occupier may, within twenty-eight days of the service of the notice, object to the Secretary of State in such manner as may be specified in the notice to the scheme or to any provision contained therein; and (b) in two successive weeks publish in the Edinburgh Gazette and in one or more newspapers circulating in the district in which the control area is situated a notice stating that a control scheme has been prepared, describing the said area, naming a place within the district where a copy of the said scheme and of the map referred to therein may be inspected at all reasonable hours, and stating that any person may, within twenty-eight days of the first publication of such notice, object to the Secretary of State in such a manner as may be specified in the notice to the said scheme or to any provision contained therein. 2 If no objection is duly made under the last foregoing paragraph or if all objections so made are withdrawn, the Secretary of State may confirm the control scheme either in the form submitted to him or, subject to paragraph 4 of this Schedule, with modifications. 3 If any objection duly made as aforesaid is not withdrawn, the Secretary of State shall, before deciding whether to confirm the control scheme, cause a public inquiry to be held, and after considering the objection and the report of the person who held the inquiry may confirm the scheme either in the form submitted to him or, subject to paragraph 4 of this Schedule, with modifications. 4 The control scheme shall not be confirmed with any modification unless either— (a) every person served with a copy of the scheme by virtue of paragraph 1 of this Schedule has been served with notice of the proposal to make the modification and any other person on whom the modification, if made, would impose a requirement, has been served with a notice of the proposal to make the modification along with a copy of the said scheme, and either has consented thereto or has not, before the expiry of fourteen days from the service of the notice, notified the Secretary of State in writing that he objects thereto; or (b) the modification arises from representations made at an inquiry held under paragraph 3 of this Schedule or from the findings or recommendations of the person holding that inquiry, and every person in respect of whom the modification, if made, would vary or impose a requirement has been served with a copy of the scheme as aforesaid and been afforded an opportunity to appear and be heard at the inquiry. Part II Procedure for varying or revoking control schemes 5 On the application of the Commission, the Secretary of State may make a scheme varying a control scheme or may revoke a control scheme. 6 Before making any such variation or revocation the Secretary of State shall— (a) serve on every owner and every occupier of land on whom the control scheme has imposed any requirement or would, if varied as proposed, impose any requirement, a draft of the scheme varying the control scheme or, as the case may be, an intimation of the proposed revocation together with a notice stating that any such owner or occupier may, within twenty-eight days of the service of the draft scheme or the intimation, as the case may be, object to the Secretary of State in such a manner as may be specified in the notice to the variation or revocation of the control scheme; and (b) in two successive weeks publish in the Edinburgh Gazette and in one or more newspapers circulating in the district in which the control area is situated a notice stating that the control scheme is to be varied or revoked and that any person may, within twenty-eight days of the first publication of such notice, object in such manner as may be specified in the notice to the making of the variation or revocation, and in the case of any such variation naming a place within the district where a copy of the scheme as proposed to be varied and any map referred to therein may be inspected at all reasonable hours. 7 If no objection is duly made under the foregoing paragraph or if all objections so made are withdrawn, the Secretary of State may vary or revoke the control scheme, as the case may be. 8 If any objection duly made as aforesaid is not withdrawn, the Secretary of State shall, before deciding whether to make the variation or revocation as the case may be, cause a public inquiry to be held, and after considering the objection and the report of the person who held the inquiry may make the variation, either in the form of the draft or with modifications, or the revocation, as the case may be. 9 A variation of a control scheme shall not be made with any modification unless either— (a) every person served with a copy of the draft scheme by virtue of paragraph 6 of this Schedule has been served with notice of the proposal to make the modification and any other person on whom the modification, if made, would impose a requirement has been served with a notice of the proposal to make the modification along with a copy of the said draft scheme, and either has consented thereto or has not, before the expiry of fourteen days from the service of the notice, notified the Secretary of State in writing that he objects thereto; or (b) the modification arises from representations made at an inquiry held under the last foregoing paragraph or from the findings or recommendations of the person holding that inquiry, and every person in respect of whom the modification, if made, would vary or impose a requirement has been served with a copy of the draft scheme as aforesaid and been afforded an opportunity to appear and be heard at the inquiry. Part III General Procedural Provisions 10 Notwithstanding anything in paragraph 3 or 8 of this Schedule, the Secretary of State may require any person who has made an objection to state in writing the grounds thereof, and may disregard the objection for the purposes of this Schedule if he is satisfied that the objection is frivolous. 11 The provisions of subsections (2) to (8) of section 210 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1973 (which relate to the holding of local inquiries) shall apply in relation to a public local inquiry held under paragraph 3 or 8 of this Schedule as they apply in relation to local inquiries held under the said section 210. Part IV Provisions as to the validity of control schemes and of variations or revocations of such schemes 12 On confirming a control scheme or on varying or revoking such a scheme the Secretary of State shall forthwith— (a) serve on every person on whom a notice was required to be served under sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph 1 or under sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph 4 of this Schedule or, as the case may be, sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph 6 or under sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph 9 of this Schedule a notice stating that the scheme has been confirmed or, as the case may be, that a variation or revocation of such a scheme has been made; (b) publish in the Edinburgh Gazette and in one or more newspapers circulating in the district in which the control area is situated a notice stating that the scheme has been confirmed or varied or revoked, as the case may be, and naming a place within the district where a copy of the scheme or, as the case may be, the scheme as varied, and of any maps referred to therein, may be inspected at all reasonable hours. 13 If any person aggrieved by a control scheme or by any variation or revocation thereof desires to question its validity on the ground that it is not within the powers of this Act or that any requirement of this Act has not been complied with, he may, within six weeks from the date of the first publication of the notice referred to in sub-paragraph (b) of the last foregoing paragraph, make an application for the purpose to the Court of Session, and if any such application is duly made the Court, if satisfied that the scheme or any variation or revocation thereof is not within the powers of this Act or that the interests of the applicant have been substantially prejudiced by a failure to comply with any requirement of this Act, may quash the scheme or any variation or revocation thereof, either generally or in so far as it affects the applicant; but except as aforesaid the scheme or any variation or revocation thereof shall not at any time be questioned in any proceedings whatsoever.

THIRD SCHEDULE

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