Deer Stealers Act 1691

Recital that Persons form Confederacies to pay Penalties, &c. of Conviction:

Person convicted before a Justice of Peace of Deer-stealing.; Limitation of Prosecution.; Penalty, £20.; For each Deer wounded, £30.; Levied by Distress.; Want of Distress,; Punishment.

Whereas notwithstanding the many good Laws before this time made and still in force which do prohibit unlawfull courseing hunting or killing of Deer yet inasmuch as the Penalties thereby provided are found by daily experience not to be sufficient to deter divers lewd sturdy and disorderly persons who confederate together in great numbers makeing amongst themselves as it were a Brotherhood and Fraternity whereby if any of them shall be discovered and convicted which seldom happens because of their great force and clandestine manner of combination they by a co[m]mon contribution and for the most part advance and pay for such persons so apprehended the pecuniary Penalties (which are but small) inflicted on such offenders by reason whereof the other confederates escape discovery and condigne punishment Therefore for the more effectuall discovery and punishment of such persons Be it enacted by the King and Queens most excellent Majesties and by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons in Parliament assembled and by the authority of the same That if any person or persons shall from and after the Twenty fifth day of March in the yeare of our Lord One thousand six hundred ninety two unlawfully [X1 hunt course] take in toyles kill wound or take away any Red or Fallow Deer in any Forest Chase Purlieu Paddock Wood Parke or other Ground inclosed where Deer are have or shall bee usually kept within the Realm of England or Dominion of Wales without the consent of the owner or person chiefly intrusted with the custody thereof or shall be aiding or assisting therein and shall be convicted thereof by the confession of the Party or by the Oath of one or more credible Witnesse or Witnesses before one or more Justices of the Peace of the same County wherein the offence shall be comitted or the Party offending apprehended which Oath the said Justice or Justices hereby are impowered to administer and such persons being prosecuted for such Offence within Twelve months after such offence done That then every such person soe offending by unlawfull coursing or hunting only when no Deer is taken wounded or killed shall forfeit for every such offence the Sume of Twenty pounds And in case any Deer shall by such person or persons be wounded taken in toyles or killed that for each Deer so wounded killed or taken such person or persons shall respectively forfeit and pay the Sume of Thirty pounds to be levied by way of distress upon the Goods and Chattells of every such offender by Warrant under the Justice or Justices hand before whom such Conviction or Convictions shall be made the one third [X2 parte] of such Forfeitures to be given to the Informer or Informers [X2 the other part] to the use of the Poor of the Parish where the Offence shall be comitted and the other third part to the Owner of such Deer And for want of sufficient Distresse that then such [X3 persons] shall suffer Imprisonment by the space of one whole yeare without Bail or Mainprize and shall be sett in the Pillory by the space of one houre on some Markett day in the next adjoyning Towne to the place where such offence was com[m]itted by the chief Officer or Officers of such Markett-Towne or by his or their Under Officer or Officers

Editorial Information

X1 Variant reading of the text noted in The Statutes of the Realm as follows: course hunt O. [O. refers to a collection in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge]

X2 interlined on the Roll.

X3 Variant reading of the text noted in The Statutes of the Realm as follows: person O. [O. refers to a collection in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge]