— Part VII.— Wild Birds.
407
Sect. i. It is a defence to a charge of exposing or offering for sale or Offences, having the control or possession of any wild bird recently killed, to prove that the killing of the bird, if in a place to which the j^^fg^^ Act extends, was lawful at the time when and by the person by whom it was killed, or that the bird was killed in some place to which the Act does not extend and its importation from such a place is evidence of this until the contrary is proved {m). It is an offence to fix or place, or knowingly allow to be fixed or Pole traps placed, on a pole, tree, or cairn of stones or earth, any spring, trap, prohibited. gin, or other similar instrument calculated to cause bodily injury to
any wild bird coming in contact therewith exceed forty shillings for the
first
offence,
the penalty is not to for a subsequent
and
pounds (u). The sand-grouse is an absolutely protected bird. It is illegal at any time, knowingly or with intent, to kill, wound, or take any sandgrouse, or to expose or off'er for sale any sand-grouse killed or taken in the United Kingdom. The penalty, on summary conviction, is a sum not exceeding one pound for every bird so killed, offence five
wounded, or taken, or exposed or offered
Sand-grouse,
for sale, together with the
costs of conviction (o).
876. The Secretary of State {p) upon the application of a Powers of of county council (g), or of the council of a county borough (?-), may Secretary State.
by order (1) Extend or vary the time during which the killing and taking of any wild birds is prohibited, that is to say, extend or vary the close time as between March 1 and August 1 (s) (2) Prohibit (for special reasons mentioned in the application of the council) the taking and killing of any particular kind of wild bird during the whole or any part of the other months of the year, or
Extension of close time.
Absolute protection for certain birds.
the taking or killing of all wild birds in particular places during the whole or any part of such other months {t) Exemption (3) Exempt any county or parts of a county from the operation certain of the Acts as to all or any wild birds (ii) districts.
of the owners or occupiers of the land on which they were captured, it was held that this exemption did not apply, and that they were rightly convicted {B. v. Gilham (1885), 52 L. T. 326). (m) These defences are an amendment of s. 3 of the principal Act by s. 1 of the Act of 1881, as a result of Taylor v. Eogers (1881), 50 L. J (m. c.) 132. The exception in the Act of 1880 applied to birds " killed or taken," but the amending section applies only to birds "killed." The result is that it is now no defence to a charge of exposing for sale birds recently taken to prove they were imported from abroad; see Green v. Carstany (1901), 66 J. P. 102 (live ravens). (n) Wild Birds Protection Act, 1904 (4 Edw. 7, c. 4), s. 1. This section applies to any wild bird whatever, and is not confined to the wild birds scheduled to the principal Act. Nor is there a saving clause for owners and occupiers of land, as in s. 3 of the Act of 1880. (o) Sand-grouse Protection Act, 1888 (51 & 52 Yict. c. 55), s. 1, continued by Expiring Laws Continuance Act, 1906 (6 Edw. 7, c. 51). {p) I.e., the Home Secretary. The duties passed to the (q) Originally the justices in quarter sessions. county councils by the Local Government Act, 1888 (51 & 52 Vict, c. 41), s. 3. (r) Wild Birds Protection Act, 1896 (59 & 60 Vict. c. 56), s. 3. (s) Wild Birds Protection Act, 1880 (43 & 44 Vict. c. 35), s. 8. {t) Wild Birds Protection Act, 1896 (59 & 60 Vict. c. 56), s. 1. (u) Wild Birds Protection Act, 1880 (43 & 44 Vict. c. 35), s. 9. By the Wild .
of
