The Game Act 1831 (1 & 2 Will 4 c 32) is an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

which was passed to protect

game birds Galliformes is an order of heavy-bodied ground-feeding birds that includes turkeys, chickens, quail, and other landfowl. Gallinaceous birds, as they are called, are important in their ecosystems as seed dispersers and predators, and are often ...

by establishing a close season when they could not be legally taken. The Act also established the need for game licences and the appointing of

gamekeeper A gamekeeper (often abbreviated to keeper), or in case of those dealing with deer (deer-)stalker, is a person who manages an area of countryside (e.g. areas of woodland, moorland, waterway or farmland) to make sure there is enough game for shoo ...

s. The Act still covers the protection of game birds to this day.

Game covered by the Game Acts

The Game Act designated certain species as game birds, and their open season (when they may be shot): *

Red grouse The red grouse (''Lagopus lagopus scotica'') is a medium-sized bird of the grouse family which is found in heather moorland in Great Britain and Ireland. It is usually classified as a subspecies of the willow ptarmigan but is sometimes consider ...

(''Moor Game''), 12 August – 10 December *

Black grouse The black grouse (''Lyrurus tetrix''), also known as northern black grouse, Eurasian black grouse, blackgame or blackcock, is a large game bird in the grouse family. It is a sedentary species, spanning across the Palearctic in moorland and step ...

(''Black Game''), 20 August – 10 December *

Pheasant Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family (biology), family Phasianidae in the order (biology), order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera na ...

, 1 October – 1 February *

Partridge A partridge is a medium-sized Galliformes, galliform bird in any of several genera, with a wide Indigenous (ecology), native distribution throughout parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. Several species have been introduced to the Americas. They a ...

, 1 September – 1 February As well as adhering to the seasons, game may not be taken on Sundays or Christmas Day. The

great bustard The great bustard (''Otis tarda'') is a bird in the bustard family, the only member of the genus ''Otis''. It breeds in open grasslands and farmland from northern Morocco, South and Central Europe, to temperate Central and East Asia. European po ...

was protected under this Act, with its open season decided as 1 September – 1 March. This protection was little use however, as the great bustard became extinct in Great Britain in the 1830s. It is currently part of a reintroduction programme.

Capercaillie ''Tetrao'' is a genus of birds in the grouse subfamily known as capercaillies. They are some of the largest living grouse. Taxonomy The genus ''Tetrao'' was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his ...

are not protected in this Act as they were extinct in Britain at the time. They were reintroduced to Scotland in 1837. Brown hares are mentioned in this act but have no closed season. Two hares Acts were passed in the 19th century. The first in 1848 permitted the issuing of game licenses, where hunting could take place, and the banning of baiting with poison. The second in Act in 1892, among other things, prohibited the sale of hare meat between March and July which is the animals' breeding season.

Game licences

The Act made it lawful to take game only with the provision of a game licence. Also, to deal in game the Act made an excise licence necessary

The Game Licence was abolished in England and Wales on 1 August 2007, as well as the need for game dealers licences and the law changed to make selling game, except hare, year round legal

In Scotland, it is still necessary to have a game licence to shoot game.

Gamekeepers

The Act listed requirements on the appointment of gamekeepers, and the issuing of a gamekeepers licence on an estate.

Other birds

Although not included in this Act, a game licence was required to shoot Eurasian woodcock, woodcock and

common snipe The common snipe (''Gallinago gallinago'') is a small, stocky wader native to the Old World. The breeding habitats are marshes, bogs, tundra and wet meadows throughout the Palearctic. In the north, the distribution limit extends from Iceland ...

until 1 August 2007. Wildfowl are protected and their close seasons stated under the

Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom implemented to comply with European Council Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds. In short, the act gives protection to native species (especia ...

References

*Halsbury's Statutes of England. Third Edition. Butterworths. London. 1969
Volume 14
Pages 448 to 469. *"The Game Act, 1831". Halsbury's Statutes of England. (The Complete Statutes of England). First Edition. 1929. Volume 8

Page 1066. *J M Lely. "The Game Act, 1831". The Statutes of Practical Utility. (Chitty's Statutes). Fifth Edition. Sweet and Maxwell. Stevens and Sons. London. 1894. Volume 4. Title "Game". Page
5
to 23. *Welsby and Beavan. Chitty's Collection of Statutes, with Notes thereon. Third Edition. Henry Sweet. Stevens and Sons. London. 1865. Volume 2. Title "Game". Page
234
to 249. *James Paterson. "Game Act". The Game Laws of the United Kingdom. Shaw and Sons. London. 1861. Page
1
to 83. *John Locke. The Game Laws. Second Edition. Shaw and Sons. London. 1840. Page
1
to 60. Fourth Edition. 1856. Page
93
to 178. *William Gurdon. "New Game Act". The Statutes in Force Relating to the Preserving and Killing of Game. Saunders and Benning. London. 1839. Page
47
to 99. *John Collyer. The Criminal Statutes of England. Printed for S Sweet. London. Printed for W Wrightson. Birmingham. 1832. Page
698
to 711. Note is at pages 710 and 711. *A F Jenkin. "The Game Act, 1831". The Law Relating to Parish Councils. Knight & Co. London. 1894. Page
396
to 398. *Pudney v Eccles (1892) 17 Cox C
594

Notes

External links

UK Legislation

* {{UK legislation United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1831 Hunting and shooting in the United Kingdom