Wildlife crime in Scotland: annual report 2021

Appendix 1 - Offence Categories and Legislation

This Appendix provides further detail on the offence categories used in the wildlife crime and court proceedings statistics in Chapter 2, broken down by the crime codes used to group offences and the legislation which includes these offences.

Offences relating to / Legislation

Badgers

• Protection of Badgers Act 1992

Birds

• Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981

Cruelty to wild animals

• Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996; Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981

Deer

• Deer (Scotland) Act 1996

Hunting with dogs

• Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002

Conservation (e.g. protected sites, conservation orders)

• Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004

Poaching and game laws

• Game (Scotland) Act 1772;
• Game (Scotland) Act 1832;
• Night Poaching Act 1828;
• Poaching Prevention Act 1862;
• Agriculture (Scotland) Act 1948

Fish poaching

• Salmon & Freshwater Fisheries (Protection) (Scot) Act 1951;
• Salmon & Freshwater Fisheries (Consol) (Scot) Act 2003;
• Salmon & Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975
• The Fish Conservation (Fishing For Eels)(Scotland) Regulations 2008
• The Conservation of Salmon (Scotland) Regulations 2016
• The Conservation of Salmon (Prohibition of Sale) (Scotland) Regulations 2002
• The Salmon Carcass Tagging (Scotland) Regulations 2016
• The Tweed Regulation (Salmon Carcass Tagging Order 2016
• The Conservation of Salmon (Annual Close Time and Catch and Release) (Scotland) Regulations 2014
• The Scotland Act 1998 (River Tweed) Order 2006
• The Tweed Regulation (Salmon Conservation) (No. 2) Order 2016

Other wildlife offences (e.g. European Protected Species, CITES, attempts to commit offences)

• The Conservation (Natural Habitats etc.) Regulations 1994;
• Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981;
• Control of Trade In Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regs 1997