The Act Existing law relating to killing and taking of wild birds and wild animals
26.Section 1(1)(a) of the 1981 Act provides that it is an offence to intentionally or recklessly kill, injure or take any wild bird(3). Section 2 of that Act provides exceptions to the offences in section 1 including killing or taking any wild bird outside the close season for that bird if you had a legal right or permission to do so. Section 5(1) prohibits certain methods of killing and taking wild birds: this includes traps.
27.In relation to wild animals(4), section 9(1) of the 1981 Act provides that it is an offence to intentionally or recklessly kill, injure or take any wild animal included in Schedule 5. Section 10 of the 1981 Act provides exceptions to the offences in section 9. Section 11(1) prohibits certain methods of killing and taking of any animal. Section 11(2) further prohibits certain methods of killing and taking certain wild animals included in schedule 6 or 6ZA. Among other things, section 11(2) makes it an offence to:
	use a trap or snare for the purpose of killing or restraining any wild animals included in Schedule 6 or 6ZA, or
	set in position any trap or snare of such a nature and so placed as to be likely to cause bodily injury to any such wild animal.
28.The 1981 Act provides exceptions to these offences when the killing or taking is done under the authority of a licence under section 16.
	In relation to wild birds, section 16(1) exempts from section 1 and 5 anything done in accordance with a licence granted under that section. The reasons for which a licence can be granted are listed in section 16(1)(a) to (k). Licences under section 16(1) can be issued for the live trapping of wild birds if they comply with sections 16(5A) and (6). Section 16(5A) provides that a licence under section 16(1) which authorises any action in respect of a wild bird must specify the species of bird and the circumstances and the conditions to which the action may be taken. It must also specify the methods, means or arrangements authorised or required. Section 16(6) provides that a licence under (2) or (3) which authorises a person to kill wild birds or animals must specify the areas within which and the methods by which the wild birds or wild animals may be killed.
	In relation to wild animals, section 16(3) of the 1981 Act exempts from sections 9, 10A, 11C, and 11G of that Act (provisions relating to the intentional killing, taking or injuring of a wild animal) when this is done in accordance with a licence granted under that section. The reasons for which a licence can be granted are listed in section 16(3)(a) to (i). This is subject to the other provisions of that section; for example subsections (3ZA) to (3ZI) make further provision in relation to animals listed in Schedule 6ZA in order to comply with Agreement on International Humane Trapping Standards (AIHTS).
29.In addition to the 1981 Act, sections 50 and 50A of the Agriculture (Scotland) Act 1948 contain further controls on the use of traps to kill or take animals. Section 50, among other things, prohibits the use of a spring trap other than an approved trap (which are provided for in the Spring Traps Approval Order 2011). Section 50A makes it an offence for the purpose of killing or taking hares or rabbits to use a spring trap elsewhere than in a rabbit hole.