The Law of Field Sports

The taking and killing of wild birds and animals, for food and for sport, is as old as the hills. The laws that apply are something of a rag-bag, stemming from ancient common law rights and piecemeal legislation, much of which is outdated and in need of reform. Many of the relevant statutes were introduced before or during the reign of Queen Victoria.

The Law of Field Sports claims to provide 'a comprehensive single source of reference' for practitioners drafting game rights in sporting or farming leases or defending those facing prosecution; ambitious, given that the book contains less than 200 pages, including tables, appendices and index.

It opens with an analysis of the laws relating to the ownership of birds and animals, in particular wild ones, before moving on to consider the meaning of 'game', a term which, frustratingly, varies depending on the legislation. A table is provided which lists the species covered, in all statutes from the Night Poaching Act 1828 to the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986.

It then moves on to look at the rights relating to the killing and taking of game, still largely governed by the Game Act 1831, subject to substantial repeal and amendment over the years. The most recent attempt at reform, the Regulatory Reform Game Order 2007, did little more than remove the need to hold a game licence in England and Wales, which had, in any event, been 'honoured in the breach by much of the shooting community'. A separate chapter deals with ground game '“ hares and rabbits '“ and the inalienable right of an occupier of land, first provided for under the Ground Game Act 1880, to allow farming tenants to cull what were seen as 'vermin'. There follows a chapter, and another useful table, on the closed seasons which apply to quarry species.

The second half of the book discusses the legislation that deals with poaching, badgers, deer and hunting with dogs, all of which have a direct bearing on field sports, before finishing with an overview of the law relating to guns. A final chapter deals with animal welfare, relevant given the nature of hunting and shooting and that many of those concerned are also livestock keepers. It concludes, somewhat incongruously, with an outline of the role of the expert witness.

Despite its slimness, some of what has been included is surprising: why, for example, do the appendices contain lengthy extracts from the Game Act 1831 and various precedents relating to the appointment of gamekeepers by lords of manors when we are told that this part of the Act has fallen into disuse? On the other hand, several areas that one would expect to see covered are absent; for example, little or no mention is made of fishing and the use of traps and snares in pest control.

There are a number of obvious inaccuracies which have managed to slip into print. For example, it is not the case that the maximum sentence for offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 is imprisonment of up to 51 weeks; unless and until section 281(5) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 is brought into force, custody remains limited to six months. The text is also littered with irritating proofreading errors '“ typographical mistakes, missing words, incorrect references within the text and headers, names misspelt and cases improperly cited '“ which add to the impression that the book was rushed into publication.

That said, the general layout of the book and the order in which it tackles the subject matter, with clear summaries at the end of each chapter, make it easy to follow. Despite its flaws, which it is to be hoped will be corrected in future editions, it succeeds in bringing some clarity to a confusing area of the law.

While the book inevitably fails to meet the claim that it is a single source of reference for practitioners, it certainly provides a useful starting point for someone new to this area of work or for the layman who participates in field sports.