Part I Wildlife
Protection of birds
1 Protection of wild birds, their nests and eggs.
(1)
Subject to the provisions of this Part, if any person intentionally—
(a)
kills, injures or takes any wild bird;
F1(aa)
takes, damages or destroys the nest of a wild bird included in Schedule ZA1;
(b)
takes, damages or destroys the nest of any wild bird while that nest is in use or being built; or
(c)
takes or destroys an egg of any wild bird,
he shall be guilty of an offence.
(2)
Subject to the provisions of this Part, if any person has in his possession or control—
(a)
any live or dead wild bird or any part of, or anything derived from, such a bird; or
(b)
an egg of a wild bird or any part of such an egg,
he shall be guilty of an offence.
(3)
A person shall not be guilty of an offence under subsection (2) if he shows that—
(a)
(b)
F6. . .
F7(3A)
In subsection (3) “lawfully” means without any contravention of—
(a)
this Part and orders made under it,
(b)
the Protection of Birds Acts 1954 to 1967 F8 and orders made under those Acts,
(c)
any other legislation which implements Council Directive 79/409/EEC F9 on the conservation of wild birds and extends to any part of the United Kingdom, to any area designated in accordance with section 1(7) of the Continental Shelf Act 1964 F10, or to any area to which British fishery limits extend in accordance with section 1 of the Fishery Limits Act 1976 F11, and
(d)
the provisions of the law of any member State (other than the United Kingdom) implementing the Council Directive referred to in paragraph (c).
(4)
F12. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(5)
Subject to the provisions of this Part, if any person intentionally F13or recklessly—
(a)
disturbs any wild bird included in Schedule 1 while it is building a nest or is in, on or near a nest containing eggs or young; or
(b)
disturbs dependent young of such a bird,
he shall be guilty of an offenceF14. . . .
F15(6)
For the purposes of this section the definition of “wild bird in section 27(1) is to be read as not including any bird which is shown to have been bred in captivity unless it has been lawfully released into the wild as part of a re-population or re-introduction programme.
(6A)
“Re-population” and “re-introduction” have the same meaning as in the Directive of the Council of the European Communities dated 2nd April 1979 (No 1979/409/EEC) on the conservation of wild birds.
(7)
Any reference in this Part to any bird included in Schedule 1 is a reference to any bird included in Part I and, during the close season for the bird in question, any bird included in Part II of that Schedule.
1 Protection of wild birds, their nests and eggs.
(1)
Subject to the provisions of this Part, if any person intentionally F16or recklessly—
(a)
kills, injures or takes any wild bird;
(b)
takes, damages F17, destroys or otherwise interferes with the nest of any wild bird while that nest is in use or being built; or
F18(ba)
at any other time takes, damages, destroys or otherwise interferes with any nest habitually used by any wild bird included in Schedule A1;
(bb)
obstructs or prevents any wild bird from using its nest;
(c)
takes or destroys an egg of any wild bird,
he shall be guilty of an offence.
(2)
Subject to the provisions of this Part, if any person has in his possession or control—
(a)
any live or dead wild bird or any part of, or anything derived from, such a bird; or
(b)
an egg of a wild bird or any part of such an egg,
he shall be guilty of an offence.
(3)
A person shall not be guilty of an offence under subsection (2) if he shows that—
(a)
(b)
(c)
that the bird, egg or other thing in his possession or control had been killed at, taken from or sold at a place outwith Scotland and—
(i)
that the act of killing, taking or sale would not, if it had been committed in Scotland, have been in contravention of the relevant provisions; or
(ii)
that the bird, egg or other thing had been brought from the place where it was killed, taken or sold in accordance with the relevant regulations.
F23. . .
F24(3A)
In subsection (3)—
“the relevant provisions” means such of the provisions of—
(a)
the Protection of Birds Acts 1954 to 1967 and orders made under those Acts, and
(b)
this Part and orders made under it,
as were in force at the time when the bird or egg was killed or taken or, as the case may be, the bird, egg or other thing was sold,
“the relevant regulations” means—
(a)
Council Regulation 338/97/EC on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade, and
(b)
Commission Regulation 1808/2001/EC on the implementation of that Council Regulation,
as amended from time to time (or any Community instrument replacing either of them).
(4)
F12. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(5)
Subject to the provisions of this Part, if any person intentionally F13or recklessly—
(a)
disturbs any wild bird included in Schedule 1 while it is building a nest or is in, on or near a nest containing eggs or young; or
(b)
disturbs dependent young of such a bird,
he shall be guilty of an offenceF14. . . .
F25(5A)
Subject to the provisions of this Part, any person who intentionally or recklessly disturbs any wild bird included in Schedule 1 which leks while it is doing so shall be guilty of an offence.
(5B)
Subject to the provisions of this Part, any person who intentionally or recklessly harasses any wild bird included in Schedule 1A shall be guilty of an offence.
(5C)
Subject to the provisions of this Part, any person who knowingly causes or permits to be done an act which is made unlawful by any of the foregoing provisions of this section shall be guilty of an offence.
(6)
In this section “wild bird” does not include any bird which is shown to have been bred in captivity.
(7)
Any reference in this Part to any bird included in Schedule 1 is a reference to any bird included in Part I and, during the close season for the bird in question, any bird included in Part II of that Schedule.