Hunting Act (Amendment) Bill
Part 1, Section 1 add new paras 1(2) and 1(3) as follows:
(2) For the purposes of this Section the phrase 'hunts a wild mammal with a dog' means - causes or permits a dog to seek out, pursue, attack, injure or kill a wild mammal.
(3) A person shall not be guilty of an offence under this Section if he shows that his dog is kept as a household pet, was being normally exercised at the time, has never been trained or used in any form of hunting and that he made reasonable attempts to prevent the dog from pursuing the wild mammal.
Part 2, Section 6
Add power to imprison offender for 6 months
Part 2, Section 6
Add new clause allowing courts to disqualify an individual offender convicted of an offence under Section 1 from owning, keeping or taking part in keeping animals.
Part 2, Section 9
Add power for forfeiture of all dogs belonging to a registered Hunt.
Part 3, Section 10
Hunts to be made responsible for ensuring their staff and officers don't break Hunting Act.
Part 3, Section 11
Delete 'pursuit' and insert 'hunting'
Schedule 1.1
Make those carrying out the stalking/flushing be able to show that it was necessary and that there was no other satisfactory means of achieving the specified purpose(s).
Schedule 1.1
Remove 'participation in a field trial' from the allowable purposes for stalking/flushing.
Schedule 1.2
Preferably, delete this Exemption entirely. Failing that, bar operations under the 'Gamekeeper's Exemption' from being carried out in conjunction with any form of simulated hunting of a wild mammal. Bar digging into the underground refuge of a wild mammal where operations under Gamekeepers' Exemption are being undertaken, unless can be shown it is necessary to rescue the terrier.
Schedule 1.3, 1.4, 1.5 & 1.6
Restrict the number of dogs allowed to hunt to two in each case.
Schedule 1.9
Insist that all dogs used be kept leashed at all times.
NEW
Create Code of Practice for 'trail hunting' which, as with the CoP attached to the Gamekeeper's Exemption, would have the force of law. This, at a minimum, to insist trails are not laid through areas where wild mammals are likely to be found and that quarry-based scents are not used.