Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2026

38 Liability for taking or killing stray farmed deer

(1) The 1996 Act is modified as follows.

(2) After section 20, insert—

“20A Offence of failing to report taking or killing of stray farmed deer

(1) This section applies where—

(a) a person has taken or wilfully killed a deer,

(b) the deer is a stray farmed deer, and

(c) section 25A does not apply.

(2) The person is guilty of an offence if the person fails to report the taking or killing of the deer and, if appropriate, the location of its carcase, to the Police Service of Scotland within the period of 5 working days beginning with the day on which the deer was taken or killed.

(3) It is a defence for the person to show that the person did not know, and could not reasonably have known, that the deer was a stray farmed deer.”.

(3) After section 26, insert—

“26A Defence to civil proceedings for killing or injuring stray farmed deer

In any civil proceedings against a person for killing or causing injury to a stray farmed deer, it is a defence for the person to prove that—

(a) the person was exercising a legal right to take or kill deer, and

(b) the person has complied with the person’s duty under section 20A or, as the case may be, section 25A.”.

(4) In schedule 3 (penalties), after the entry relating to section 20(1), insert—

“20A(2)

Failing to report taking or killing of stray farmed deer

a fine of level 2 on the standard scale for each deer in respect of which the offence is committed”.

(5) In section 43 (application of Act to farmed deer)—

(a) in subsection (1), for “(4)” substitute “(3A)”,

(b) after subsection (3), insert—

“(3A) Except as provided in sections 20A and 26A, a stray farmed deer is to be treated as a deer for the purposes of this Act, unless or until it is caught and returns to being a farmed deer.”,

(c) subsection (4) is repealed.

(6) In section 45 (interpretation)—

(a) for the definition of “farmed deer”, substitute—

• ““farmed deer” means deer of any species which are on agricultural land enclosed by a deer-proof barrier and are kept on that land by any person as livestock,”,

(b) after the definition of “species”, insert—

• ““stray farmed deer” means a deer which was a farmed deer but which has escaped the agricultural land enclosed by a deer-proof barrier on which it was kept,”.