Law of country sports (England and Wales)

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Law of country sports or law of field sports refers to an area of ​​law in the legal system of England and Wales that roughly corresponds to objective hunting law in continental Europe.

Concept and concept of the hunt

While in Germany the sporting aspect of hunting has largely been pushed into the background since the revolution of 1848 at the latest , in England this is still the focus of consideration of the associated legal area. This corresponds to the fact that the English hunting law is called the law of country sports . An umbrella term for 'hunting' is absolutely foreign to English law. The different ways of killing animals are each viewed as a separate sport. It is unusual to practice several or even all types of hunting; rather, an athlete usually specializes in one type of hunting sport. A distinction is made between the following sports:

  1. Shooting : The shooting hunting is with the shotgun called.
  2. Stalking : In contrast to this is hunting with the rifle , stalking. The prey of stalking is deer, i. H. the antlers ( red deer , fallow deer , sika deer , roe deer , Chinese water deer and muntjac ).
  3. Hunting: If the prey is chased with a pack of dogs , this is called hunting in England . Hunting is again divided into four subspecies. The Hunting Act 2004 severely restricted this sport.
    1. Foxhunting : Here a pack of 30 to 40 dogs chases a wild fox. Catch it up, kill it - if it reaches its den, it is regularly left alive. Actual participants in the hunt are only the huntsman and his helpers, the whipper-in. The field is only a spectator and ispreventedby the field master from getting too close to the dogs.
    2. Deerhunting : For deerhunting ,the harbors selecta suitable piece of deer several hours before the start of the hunt, which is later chased by the pack of dogs; everything else deer is driven out of the hunting area.
    3. Harehunting :
    4. Deerehunting :
  4. Coursing : In coursing , hares are herded into an open field. When the hare has covered a distance of around 70 to 90 m, the slipper lets one or two greyhounds loose on it. The subsequent baiting lasts less than a minute. A competition judge assesses the performance of the greyhounds. The greyhound is not allowed to kill the hare itself - in this case it receives 0 points. Rather, the aim is to compare the greyhounds in terms of their ability to catch up with the rabbit.

history

11th to 18th centuries: From the res nullius to the royal hunting rack

Hunting Laws of Knut I and Edward the Confessor

Until the first hunting laws were passed, every animal in the wild was considered a res nullius ; so everyone had the right to hunt it down and acquire it. The first change in this situation came with the first surviving hunting law of Knuts I in 1016.

"Volo etiam, ut quilibet homo sit dignus venatione sua in sylva, et in agris sibi propriis, ac abstinent quilibet a venatione mea ubicunque pacem haberi volo pro plena mulcta."

“Everyone should participate in his hunt in forest and field on his own. On the other hand, everyone should avoid my hunt, wherever I want it to be enclosed, with a full fine. "

The Constitutiones de Foresta (1016) ascribed to Knut do not go back to Knut , as Felix Liebermann demonstrated in 1894, but are a forgery from around 1184. A law by Edward the Confessor also dates from the pre-Norman era :

"I will that all men do abstain from hunting in my woods, and that my will shall be obeyed under penalty of life."

Forest law

The development of the right to hunt to a royal shelf experienced a strong boost under the first Norman king, Wilhelm the Conqueror . He operated the introduction of an independent forest law, which was considered a special law alongside common law . The aim of this legislation was primarily the private hunting pleasure of the king, which should be secured by a hunting and gun ban for the population and the protection of the livelihood of the game. Forest law only applied in the forest; In order to determine a forest, the king commissioned a commission, which examined and delimited an area determined by him. At the time of Henry II , almost a third of the kingdom belonged to the forest. As Lord Coke later explained in the fourth part of the Institutes of the laws of England , eight elements had to be present for an area to be declared a forest:

“A forest doth consist of 8. things, viz. of Soil, Covert, Laws, Courts, Judges, Officers, Game, and certain Bounds. "

"A forest consists of eight things: soil, thicket, laws, courts, judges, officials, game and borders."

- Lord Coke : The fourth part of the Institutes of the laws of England (1644): Cap. LXXIII Of the Forests, and the Jurisdiction of the Courts of the Forests , p. 289

This forest legislation was associated with great restrictions for the private landowners and lessees : In order to avoid damage to game, assart, purpresture and waste on the vegetation were forbidden. As assart were referred to the conversion of forest into farmland and pastures. The first time it was visited, the land was confiscated for the crown, the second time a deposit was added, the third time imprisonment. The first recorded case of Assart happened in 1199 in the Forest of Dean , when five residents converted 18 acres (= approx. 7.28 hectares) of forest. Purpresture referred to any non-specifically regulated interference with the rights of the king and was also present when the owner unlawfully fenced in his land: every hedge, every trench had to be specifically approved by the king or the Chief Justice of the Forest , otherwise this was considered a serious criminal offense who was fined outside the Forest Eyre . Waste was a fined crime in which the residents or owners of a forest illegally felled wood or cut peat. It was only allowed to collect dead wood.

The inhabitants of the forest were to compensate for the limitations of the Forestry Law certain mast rights: the common-of-pasture, the pannage and agistment. The common-of-pasture was a common right and authorized all residents of “ancient houses and cottages in forest villages” to graze their cows, oxen and horses in the forest. For a fee of 1 or 2 pence per pig, they also had the right, called pannage , to drive their pigs into the forest in autumn to fatten acorns and beechnuts . The general grazing right for pigs existed all year round and was called agistment. However, these fattening rights were restricted by the fence month , during which the deer sets its fawns, and the winter heyning (November 11th to April 23rd) in the winter time; the food, which is scarce in winter, should be reserved for the deer . Both restrictions lasted until the Wild Creatures and Forest Laws Act 1971.

Hunting was regulated by prohibiting the practice of hunting as such and the possession of hunting equipment. Hunting the beasts ( deer , hare , wild boar , partly fallow deer and roe deer ), and fowls of the forest ( goshawk , hawk , eagle and herons ) was forbidden even prerogative of the king and in case of famine. In order to ensure the practical implementation of the ban, forest residents were prohibited from possessing bows, arrows, crossbows and greyhounds . To make dogs unfit for hunting, three toes of each foreleg were cut off directly at the base.

Since the king himself could not always hunt in person (Heinrich III. Visited the forest Dean only four times), the king commissioned his body hunters (servant hunter who had to carry his master's rifle) with the hunt. Hunting days also served as a reward for favorites, relatives and clergymen, whom the king gave a piece of fallow deer to hunt. Since the Anglo-Saxon law, all foreigners who did not indicate their journey off-street public by cries or horn signals for the poaching suspect held, had deer "public", that is, a forester and Horn Call accompanied be hunted. Hunting was always forbidden during winter heynings and fence month, which can therefore be considered the first closed seasons .

When William the Conqueror introduced forest law, its enforcement was probably still the responsibility of the sheriffs . Heinrich II introduced a separate, hierarchically structured administrative apparatus for the forest administration; Heinrich I had already appointed his own forest judge. At the head of the forest administration stood until 1238, then two Chief Justices of the Forest . Henry III. 1238 divided the forests into two forest provinces, the border of which was marked by the Trent . The title changed several times over the years: Chief Forester, Justice in Eyre , most recently Chief Justice of the Forest or just Chief Justice for short . The entire forest administration of their forest provinces was subordinate to them. The Chief Justice was also a member of the next hierarchy level, the Justices in Eyre of the Forest. The king appointed these four judges - one of them the Chief Justice - to act as traveling forest judges to assert his interests in the counties. Their abundance of power - even barons, counts and the high clergy could summon them to the king or parliament - made them the backbone of the entire forest administration. The treasurer of Henry II called it "the shrine and bower of kingship".

The next level of the hierarchy was formed by the wardens, who roughly corresponded to the sheriffs of normal administration. Wardens were usually nobles and appointed for life by the king to manage a single forest. A warden was entitled to employ foresters . A forester then took over the administration of a district entrusted to him within the forest; this district was called bailick or walk. In addition to the normal foresters , there were also the foresters-of-fee , who had received their district directly from the crown as a hereditary fief. Even foresters-of-fee allowed normal foresters delegate their tasks, but had to as well as the wardens take full responsibility for their action. Each forester was sworn in directly to the king.

Fall of forest law

As a royal privilege, forest rights were unpopular with all estates: the nobility envied the king for hunting, landowners were largely made impossible to use the land, the common population could not use game as a source of food and the wood of the forest and the pasture and fattening options there use only to a limited extent. Triggered by this general unpopularity, the common law courts began to extend their jurisdiction to forest law and to subordinate this special law to common law . Lord Coke writes:

"[...] that the law of the forest is allowed, and bounded by the common laws of this realm."

- Lord Coke : The fourth part of the Institutes of the laws of England (1644): Cap. LXXIII Of the Forests, and the Jurisdiction of the Courts of the Forests , p. 290

14th to 18th centuries: Landowner Hunting Law and Game Laws

The royal hunting rack, which dates back to the 11th century, suffered a significant decline in importance since the 14th century and, with marginal exceptions, had practically disappeared completely in the 18th century. From the privilege of the landed gentry to hunt on their land, the landowner hunting law developed, which was shaped by the Game Laws .

From 1831: authorization to hunt

After the Whigs ruled again in 1830, they passed the Game Act in 1831 repealing almost all of the older game laws; henceforth everyone could hunt with a hunting license.

Governing Law

Holder of the hunting right

The subjective right to hunt in England belongs to the owner of the land . Agreed it with another one lease , the hunting right automatically passes to the lessee over, unless the lessor has the hunting rights reserved; in this case the lessee grants the owner the hunting right by express agreement either in the contract for the lease or in an independent contract. No written form is required for an independent contract.

Acquisition of ownership of animals ferae naturae

Under English law, animals are transformed into tame animals; H. Domestic animals, and animals ferae naturae divided. Living animals ferae naturae are res nullius, but they can become qualified property in three ways : per industriam, ratione impotentiae et loci or ratione soli and ratione privilegii. Qualified property does not lead to ownership, but only to the authorization to kill the animal. Qualified property is created per industriam when an animal is caught and tamed without infringing the rights of third parties; if the animal escapes, the qualified property is lost and the animal reverts to the status of res nullius , unless it is pursued immediately or returns voluntarily. Qualified property ratione impotentiae et loci is entitled to every owner of a piece of land on the animals that are born on him and cannot yet leave it on their own. The property owner's sole hunting right goes hand in hand with qualified property ratione soli on all animals ferae naturae during their stay on the property. If the right to hunt has been transferred to someone else, that person acquires qualified property ratione privilegii.

Game license

Unlike in many continental European countries, a hunting license with a hunter's examination is not necessary in England and Wales. All that is required is a game license, which is issued to anyone for a fee. Training and education are offered by private associations, but are not compulsory. The legal regulations for the game license can be found in the Game Act 1831 and the Game License Act 1860, which, however, require different things.

Wildlife trade

In order to avoid poaching, the Game Act 1831 only allows the trade in game with a trade permit. The Game Licenses Act 1860 also makes the excise license, a type of tax certificate, which has to be applied for each year, a prerequisite; Trading venison without the excise license can be punished with up to £ 500. In principle, anyone can apply for a trading permit, with the exception of innkeepers, grocers and beer retailers from the outset.

Gamekeeper

The permission to employ a ranger is of little practical relevance . This is due to the royal family and the administrators of crown estates , the high nobility and the owners of manors and lordships. The job of a gamekeeper is the keeping and hunting of game; in return he receives wages from his employer. Game rangers must be registered with the responsible administrative office. Since there are seldom rangers in practice, most administrative offices have stopped keeping rangers lists.

poaching

As res nullius , animals ferae naturae are not a suitable object of theft , but only of poaching . The Night Paoching Act 1828, which applies to night poaching, applies to the whole of the United Kingdom . The Game Act 1831 applies to poaching during the day. The terminological and content-related coordination of both laws is imperfect, as can be seen in the fact that the term game in both laws already includes different animal species. Under the Game Act 1831 , the day begins an hour before sunrise and ends an hour after sunset. Anyone who commits trespass to land at the time of day with the intention of stalking game ( woodcock , snipe or rabbit ) is a criminal offense .

Special rules for deer

In addition to the general rules for the animals ferae naturae , special rules apply to stalking on deer , especially the Deer Act 1991. In order to let the deer suffer as little as possible, certain weapons with limited effectiveness are prohibited. These are traps, snares, nets, poisoned bait or projectiles with narcotics, as well as arrows, spears and other projectiles. Firearms for stalking must have a rifled barrel, a minimum caliber of .240 inches, and a muzzle energy of at least 1700 foot-pounds (2305 joules). The use of shotguns is only permitted if it ends the suffering of an animal or if it causes damage in fields, pastures or wooded areas.

Gun Law

Even after the Gun License Act 1870 , a license was required to own a firearm, which was easily granted for a small amount of money. The requirements were tightened by the Firearms Act 1920 , but a comprehensive regulation of the sale, acquisition and carrying of firearms was not issued until the Firearms Act 1968 , which was last tightened after the Dunblane school massacre .

In the Firearms Act 1968 , two things make one thing for firearm (firearm) : Your potentially lethal effect and a run . The lethal effect of each weapon must be judged on a case-by-case basis and not according to the type of weapon - air rifles can also be firearms in individual cases . An item can be a firearm even if it is a prohibited weapon. Also firearms are the components (components) of a banned or deadly weapon acting, so all the parts that are needed to the gun to fire (eg. Deduction ). Furthermore, all accessories (accessories) for a deadly act or prohibited weapon firearms if they are to reduce the bang or muzzle flash, such as silencers . Firearms are divided into three groups: rifles , shotguns and prohibited firearms. A shot gun must have a smooth bore in the barrel and its barrel must be at least 24 inches (61 cm) long.

The possession, purchase or use of a firearm or ammunition is only legal if a firearms license has been issued for the respective type of firearm. The Chief Officer of Police in the respective area is responsible for issuing the gun license . No gun license is issued for handguns , as they are prohibited. In rare exceptional cases, however, a gun license can be issued under the conditions of the gun license for rifles, if this is used to kill animals in a “humane way” (“humane killing of animals”). The possession of weapons can be legal even without a gun license: Permits can usually be issued for one month, which are applied for especially for the heirs of guns until they are sold. If a hunter has a gun license , his gun bearer may also carry the weapon and ammunition. The possibility of legal firearms possession is particularly relevant for foreign hunting guests: If you borrow a shotgun or rifle from the occupier of a property, you may own the firearm on the property and under his supervision, provided the occupier has been issued a valid gun license. The second option for foreign hunting guests is to apply for a visitor's permit .

literature

Current legal situation

  • Marco Flaute: Hunting rights in Great Britain . LIT, Münster 2002, ISBN 3-8258-5910-X .
  • Charlie Parkes and John Thornley: Deer — Law and Liabilities . 2nd Edition. Quiller, Shrewsbury 2002, ISBN 978-1-84689-047-5 .
  • Charlie Parkes and John Thornley: Fair Game — The Law of Country Sports and the Protection of Wildlife . 4th edition. Pelham, London 1997, ISBN 978-0-7207-2065-5 .
  • Tim Russ, Jamie Foster: Law of field sports . Wildy, Simmonds and Hill Publishing, 2010, ISBN 978-0-85490-069-5 .

Legal history

  • Edward Coke : The fourth part of the Institutes of the laws of England . Printed by M. Flesher, for W. Lee, and D. Pakeman, London 1644 ( online ).
  • Cyril Dean: The Verderers and Forest Laws of Dean . 2nd Edition. Lightmore Press, 2005, ISBN 978-1-899889-17-4 .
  • PB Munsche: Gentlemen and Poachers: The English Game Laws 1671-1831 . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2008, ISBN 978-0-521-09075-9 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Marco Flaute: Hunting Law in Great Britain . LIT, Münster 2002, ISBN 3-8258-5910-X , p. 1-5 .
  2. ^ Translation: Felix Liebermann: About Pseudo-Cnuts Constitutiones de Foresta . Halle an der Saale 1894.
  3. ^ Philip AJ Pettit: The Royal Forests of Northamtonshire. A Study in Their Economy 1558-1714 . Gateshead 1968, p. 153 .
  4. ↑ http://www.wissen.de/rechtschreibung/leibjaeger
  5. ↑ (see Game Act 1831 , c. 32, pp. 8, 11 and 12: "to reserve" )
  6. ↑ ( Jones v Williams and Roberts (1877) ). Marco Flaute: Hunting rights in Great Britain . LIT, Münster 2002, ISBN 3-8258-5910-X , p. 89-91 .
  7. ↑ Marco Flaute: Hunting Law in Great Britain . LIT, Münster 2002, ISBN 3-8258-5910-X , p. 92-117 .
  8. ↑ Marco Flaute: Hunting Law in Great Britain . LIT, Münster 2002, ISBN 3-8258-5910-X , p. 118-122 .
  9. ↑ s. 18th
  10. ↑ in p. 14th
  11. ↑ Marco Flaute: Hunting Law in Great Britain . LIT, Münster 2002, ISBN 3-8258-5910-X , p. 122-128 .
  12. ↑ after s. 13 of the Game Act 1831
  13. ↑ Marco Flaute: Hunting Law in Great Britain . LIT, Münster 2002, ISBN 3-8258-5910-X , p. 128-130 .
  14. ↑ after s. 30th
  15. ↑ (iSv. S. 2)
  16. ↑ Marco Flaute: Hunting Law in Great Britain . LIT, Münster 2002, ISBN 3-8258-5910-X , p. 133-142 .
  17. ↑ after s. 4 of the Deer Act
  18. ↑ after s. 6th
  19. ↑ Marco Flaute: Hunting Law in Great Britain . LIT, Münster 2002, ISBN 3-8258-5910-X , p. 168-175 .
  20. ↑ by the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 and the Firearms (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1997
  21. ^ Firearms Act 1968: p. 57 (1)
  22. ↑ s. 57 (1) (a) (see p. 5)
  23. ↑ in the sense of the FA 1968
  24. ↑ after s. 1 (3) (a) of the Firearms Act 1968
  25. ↑ ss. 26A, 26B Firearms Act 1968
  26. ↑ after s. 5 (1) Firearms Act 1968
  27. ↑ after s. 5A (4) (b) (iii) of the Firearms Act
  28. ↑ According to s. 7 FA
  29. ↑ after s. 11 (1) FA
  30. ↑ after s. 11 (5) or 16 FA
  31. ↑ s. 17 (1) FA