A cautious welcome to the Hunting with Dogs Bill

General News
Moorland
25 Jan 2023

Scottish Land & Estates has given a cautious welcome to the Hunting with Dogs Bill, as passed yesterday after almost a year of Parliamentary process and a long Stage 3 debate.

All rural organisations with members responsible for managing wildlife remain sceptical that there was enough evidence of an animal welfare problem to warrant new primary legislation.  Scotland had a workable system but this legislation will now make it more difficult to control foxes, rabbits and mink by limiting to two the number of dogs which can be used to flush them to guns, and other provisions.  It has also thrown up a new area of legal uncertainty around rough shooting and potentially some unforeseen new animal welfare problems.

Chairman Mark Tennant said : “There has been a constructive process of discussion with the Minister, Mairi McAllan, and the Bill team, and Scottish Land & Estates has been pleased to be involved with that.  The Scottish Government has given a commitment to develop a licensing system for use of more than two dogs when justified and we look forward to helping NatureScot to ensure that is practically workable for our members.  SLE was also involved with others in advising the RAINE Committee on the unforseen consequences for rough shooting and are pleased that the Minister has also undertaken to  “work with the shooting industry on post-legislative guidance in order to try to manage down the risk of vexatious claims” . 

 

The key provisions affecting land and wildlife management are:

 

Hunting

  • The Bill clarifies the 2002 law confirming that it is illegal to hunt a wild mammal with a dog.  An owner or occupier of land also commits an offence if he/she allows another person to do so.  Maximum penalties are 12 months imprisonment or a £40,000 fine.
  • There are a number of purposes which give exceptions:
    • To flush a mammal above ground to shoot it, in order to protect damage to livestock/woodland/crops, or for health reasons
    • To flush a fox underground for the same reasons
    • To flush a mammal for falconry, game shooting and deer stalking
    • To relive the suffering of an injured mammal (but not kill it with a dog) or search for a dead mammal.
    • To flush a mammal as part of a scheme for “environmental benefit” 
  • If operating under any of these exceptions, it is illegal to use more than two dogs, or let dogs form a pack.  This is now the same as in England and Wales but it is widely accepted as being ineffective particularly for controlling foxes in hilly and heavily wooded country. 
  • To overcome that problem, a licensing scheme will enable more than two dogs to be used when necessary.  This is now subject to stakeholder work with Nature Scot to develop a practically workable arrangement.  There will be conditions on these licences to prevent allowing “hunting by the back door”. Nature Scot will need to approve the purpose, the number of dogs to be used, the number of guns to be deployed and that there is no other effective solution. 
  • There will be a time limit on a licence, depending on the exception purpose – either 14 days with in a six month period for protection of livestock etc, or for two years for an environmental scheme.
  • Trail hunting (using an animal-based scent) will be banned (except where training a dog)

Shooting

  • Rabbits will now be included in the definition of “wild mammal”.  This is to prevent any chasing/killing a rabbit by a dog and to remove a loophole by which hare coursers were evading prosecution (by claiming to be hunting rabbits)
  • The inclusion of rabbits raises issues for rough shooting where rabbits are part of the quarry, and for gundog field trials, where more than two dogs are in the field and could be perceived as forming a pack to chase a rabbit. 
  • This raises a new area of uncertainty as the law was not intended to restrict rough shooting.  Further consultation with stakeholders has been promised to clarify  and help avoid vexatious allegations.

 

The Countryside Alliance has produced a list of FAQs - Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Act 2023 - What it means for those using dogs for wildlife management

BASC has also produced a list of FAQs - What does the Hunting with Dogs Bill mean for shooting?