An Act to amend the Game Preservation Act (Northern Ireland)
1928; and to
amend the law relating to the killing, taking or destroying
of rabbits and hares.
BE IT ENACTED
by being passed by the Northern Ireland Assembly and
assented to by Her Majesty as follows:
Close seasons
1.-(1) The Game Preservation Act (Northern
Irelans) 1928 (c. 25)(referred
to in this Act as "the 1928 Act") shall be amended
as follows.
(2) In section (7)(1)
(periods during which it is unlawful to take, kill or
destroy game)-
(a)
after paragraph (b) there shall be inserted-
"bb
any partridge or snipe during the period commencing on
1st
February in any year and ending with 31st August next
following;";
and
(b)
in paragraph (c) for "game bird other than a grouse"
there shall be
substituted
"other game bird".
(3) In section 7 for
subsection (3) (power to vary certain periods) there shall
be substituted-
"(3)
The Minister of the Environment ( in this Act referred to
as
"the
Minister") may by order-
(a)
amend subsection (1) so as to vary the close season in
relation to any kind of game; or
(b)
amend subsection (2) so as to vary the period referred
to
in that subsection.".
(4) In section 7D(4),
after "purposes only" there shall be inserted "and
that
the taking of such hares would not endanger the hare population
in Northern
Ireland or any part thereof".
(5) In section 7F(2)
(temporary nature of orders of the Minister) after "under
this Act" there shall be inserted "( except one
made under section 7(3))".
Protection of game and rabbits
2.-(1) For section 7A of the 1928 Act
there shall be substituted--
"Protection of
game and rabbits
7A -
(1) Any person who kills, takes or destroyes any game-
(a)
on a sunday; or
(b)
during the period commencing one hour after sunset on any
day
and
ending one hour before sunrise on the next day,
shall be guilty of an offence under
this Act.
(2) Any
person who--
(a)
at any time kills, takes or destroys any rabbit by means of
a firearm
on
any land; and
(b)
is not an authorised person in relation to that land,
shall be guilty of an offence under
this Act.
(3)
Subsection (2) does not apply in relation to the killing,
taking or
destroying of any rabbit in pursuance
of any power conferred by or under--
(a)
the Forestry Act (Northern Ireland) 1953 (c. 2); or
(b)
the Diseases of Animals (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 (NI
"").
(4)
In the Ground Game Act 1880 (c. 47) (right of occupier to
kill and
take hares and rabbits)--
(a)
In section 1, in subsection (1)--
(i)
for the words "duly authorised by him in writing"
there shall be
substituted
"authorised by him"; and
(ii)
paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) shall be ommitted;
(b)
in section 1, subsection (3) shall be omitted; and
(c)
section 10 shall be omitted.
(5) In the Miscellaneous
Transfered Excise Duties Act (Northern Ireland)
1972 (c. 11)--
(a)
in section 29(3) (persons not required to have game licence)
for
for
paragraph (c) there shall be substituted--
"(c)
any occupier of any land, or any person authorised by him,
engaged
in the killing or taking of ground game on that land;";
(b)
in section 35(4) (sale by occupier of ground game killed or
taken
on
his land) for the words from "duly authorised" to
the end there shall
be
substituted "authorised by him to kill and take ground
game";
(c)
in section 37(1) (restriction on sales to licenced game dealers)
the
words
"in accordance with the Ground Game Acts" shall
be omitted;
(d)
in section 41(b) (saving for rights of occupier under Ground
Game
Acts) for "Acts" there shall be substituted "Act
1880";
(e)
in section 42 (interpretation) the definition of "the
Ground Game
Acts"
shall be omitted.
(6) The Statutory provisions
set out in the Schedule are repealed to the
extent specified in the second column of the Schedule.
Orders under the 1928 Act
3. In section 7F of the 1928 Act for
subsection (4) (orders under that Act
to be published) there shall be substituted--
"(4)
Orders made by the Minister under this Act shall be subject
to
negative resolution.".
Short Title and commencement
4.--(1) This Act may be cited as the
Game Preservation (Amendment) Act
(Northern Ireland) 2002.
(2) Sections 1 and 2
shall come into operation on such day or days as the
Department of the Environment may by order appoint.
