Moved by
The Lord Bishop of St Albans
124: After Clause 54, insert the following new Clause—
“Poaching of game
(1) The Game Laws (Amendment) Act 1960 is amended as follows.
(2) In section 2(1), after “committing” insert “, has committed, or is about to commit”.
(3) In section 4—
(a) in subsection (1)—
(i) after “section thirty” insert “or section thirty-two”, and
(ii) at the end insert “or any animal, vehicle, or other article belonging to him, or in his possession or under his control at the relevant time.”;
(b) in subsection (2), after “gun”, in both places it occurs, insert “, animal,”;
(c) at the end insert—
“(6) Where a person is convicted of an offence under the Night Poaching Act 1828 or the Game Act 1831, the court may order the offender to reimburse any expenses incurred by the police in connection with the keeping of any animal seized in connection with the offence.”
(4) In section 4A(1), for “section thirty of the Game Act 1831 as one of five or more persons liable under that section” substitute “section 1 or 9 of the Night Poaching Act 1828, or section 30 or 32 of the Game Act 1831”.
(5) After section 4A insert—
“4B Disqualification Orders
(1) Where a person is convicted of an offence under either the Night Poaching Act 1828 or the Game Act 1831, the court may, instead of or in addition to dealing with the person in any other way, make an order disqualifying the person from having custody of a dog for such period as the court thinks fit.
(2) A person who is disqualified from having custody of a dog by virtue of an order made under subsection (1) may, at any time after the end of the period of one year beginning with the day on which the order was made, apply to the court that made it for a direction terminating the disqualification.
(3) On an application under subsection (2) the court may—
(a) having regard to the applicant’s character, conduct since the disqualification was imposed, and any other circumstances of the case, grant or refuse the application, and
(b) order the applicant to pay all or any part of the costs of the application,
and where an application in respect of an order is refused no further application in respect of that order may be made before the end of the period of one year beginning with the day on which the application was rejected.
(4) Where a court decides not to make an order under subsection (1) in relation to an offender, it must—
(a) give reasons for the decision in open court, and
(b) if it is a magistrates’ court, cause the reasons to be entered in the register of proceedings.
(5) Any person who has custody of a dog in contravention of an order under subsection (1), is guilty of an offence.
(6) Disqualification from having custody of a dog under this section includes disqualifying a person—
(a) from owning dogs;
(b) from keeping dogs;
(c) from participating in the keeping of dogs;
(d) from being party to an arrangement under which they are entitled to control or influence the way in which dogs are kept;
(e) from dealing in dogs;
(f) from transporting dogs;
(g) from arranging for the transport of dogs.””
Member’s explanatory statement
This new Clause is intended to broaden the powers available to the police and the courts for dealing with illegal hare coursers. Measures include providing for forfeiture of animals on conviction and permitting the recovery of expenses incurred by the police in housing a seized animal.