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Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Act 2023

The Act’s Purpose

3.The Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Act 2023 repeals and replaces the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002 (the “2002 Act”) which makes it an offence to hunt a wild mammal using a dog in Scotland except in limited specified circumstances.

4.The Act broadly replicates the provisions of the 2002 Act, but makes certain modifications to further limit the circumstances in which it is permitted to hunt a wild mammal using a dog and to prohibit trail hunting (the practice of directing a dog to find and follow an animal-based scent laid for that purpose) except under limited circumstances. It also aims to address deficiencies of the 2002 Act, in particular with regard to inconsistencies and ambiguities in the wording of the 2002 Act.

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Explanatory Notes

Text created by the Scottish Government to explain what the Act sets out to achieve and to make the Act accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. Explanatory Notes were introduced in 1999 and accompany all Acts of the Scottish Parliament except those which result from Budget Bills.

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