4For subsection (3) of section 10 of the M1 Deer Act 1963 (general exceptions) there shall be substituted the following subsections—
“(3)A person shall not be guilty of an offence under section 3(1)(c)(i) of this Act by reason of any smooth-bore gun for the purpose of killing any deer if he shows that the deer had been so seriously injured otherwise than by his unlawful act or was in such a condition that to kill it was an act of mercy.
(4)A person shall not be guilty of an offence under section 3(1)(c)(i) of this Act by reason of the use as a slaughtering instrument, for the purpose of killing any deer, of a smooth-bore gun which—
(a)is of not less gauge than 12 bore ;
(b)has a barrel less than 24 inches (609.6 millimetres) in length ; and
(c)is loaded with a cartridge purporting to contain shot none of which is less than .203 inches (5.16 millimetres) in diameter (that is to say, size AAA or any larger size).”
Marginal Citations