Deer (Scotland) Act 1959

PART II Close Seasons

21 Close seasons for red deer and power to make close seasons for other species

(1) Subject to section thirty-three of this Act, no person shall take or wilfully kill any stag, being a red deer, during the period commencing on the twenty-first day of October and ending on the thirtieth day of June or any hind, being a red deer, during the period commencing on the sixteenth day of February and ending on the twentieth day of October.

(2) The Secretary of State may by order fix a period in each year during which any species of deer named in the order other than red deer may not be taken or wilfully killed, and he may fix a different period for males and females of the species so named.

(3) Before making any such order as aforesaid the Secretary of State shall consult with any organisations that appear to him to represent persons likely to be affected by the order.

(4) For the purposes of this section " red deer " means deer of the species cervus elaphus.

(5) If any person contravenes the provisions of subsection (1) of this section or of any order made under subsection (2) of this section, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds, and in the case of a second or subsequent conviction to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, or to both such fine and imprisonment.

(6) This section shall come into operation on the twenty-first day of October, nineteen hundred and sixty-two.