Protection of Wild Rabbit (Amendment) Regulations, 2021

The proposed legal amendment introduces a twelve-point penalty system to tally with the penalty system as proposed in the Conservation of Wild Birds Regulations (S.L. 549.42).

Each offence category in Schedule II of the Protection of Wild Rabbit Regulations is assigned a number of points, ranging from two to four. Once an individual accumulates an aggregate of twelve points or more during a two-year period, his general licence (the one associated with the offences committed in case he has multiple licence categories) will be suspended by the Wild Birds Regulation Unit for a period of one (1) year, in line with the proposed amendment to regulation 5.

All points will be reset to zero if the licensee does not commit other offences as found in Schedule II within two years from the date of last offence. 

The following administrative fines have been included in Schedule II to tally with the list of administrative fines in Schedule VIII of the Conservation of Wild Birds Regulations: 

·       Failure to report any information which may be specified by the Wild Birds Regulation Unit.

·     Carrying a firearm within specific distances from any town or village, or other inhabited areas and within restricted areas.

·       Trespassing of private property, unless such trespassing is an offence under any other law.

The fines pegged to each offence category are proposed to remain as those listed in the current Schedule II of S.L.549.90. No increase in fines are proposed.