Firearms Law Amendment.

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A decision made (07/11/2008) regarding: Firearms Law Amendment.

Decision Reference: MD-HA-2008-0077
Decision Summary Title :	F/A Law amendment		Date of Decision Summary:	04 November 2008
Decision Summary Author:	Heidi Sydor Executive Officer		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt?	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?			Person Giving Oral Report:
Written Report Title :	WR F/A Law amendment		Date of Written Report:	04 November 2008
Written Report Author:	Heidi Sydor Executive Officer		Written Report : Public or Exempt?	Public
Subject: Firearms Law amendment
Decision(s): The Minister approved an amendment to the Draft Firearms (Amendment No. 2) (Jersey) Law 200- (P.162/2008) to clarify the relationship with the Conservation of Wildlife Law 2000 and agreed that the amendment be lodged for debate on 2nd December 2008.
Reason(s) for Decision: It is proposed to further amend the Firearms Law in order to clarify the inter relationship between the laws and as a reminder that there are separate requirements for hunting under the Conservation of Wildlife Law 2000.
Resource Implications: There are no resource implications to the Home Affairs Department resulting from this decision.
Action required: The Executive Officer, Home Affairs to arrange for the further amendment to be drafted, and to liaise with the Greffier of the States for the amendment to be lodged for debate on 2nd December 2008.
Signature:		Position: Minister for Home Affairs
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Firearms Law Amendment.

DRAFT FIREARMS (AMENDMENT No. 2) (JERSEY) LAW 200- (P.162/2008): AMENDMENT

1 PAGE 19, ARTICLE 18 –

At the end of the substituted Article 45 add the following paragraph –

“(8) The grant of a licence under this Article –

(a) is not, for the purposes of Article 5(2)(b) of the Conservation of Wildlife (Jersey) Law 2000, authority to destroy any protected wild animal or protected wild bird within the meaning of that Law; and

(b) does not derogate from any requirement for a licence under that Law to make the hunting lawful.”

MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS

REPORT

This amendment clarifies the interaction of the substituted Article 45 (which provides for the grant of licences by Connétables authorizing the use of firearms for hunting) with the provisions of the Conservation of Wildlife (Jersey) Law 2000.

Under the 2000 Law it is an offence to kill or injure a protected wild animal or protected wild bird, unless authorized to do so by licence granted by the Minister for Planning and Environment; it is also an offence to use certain methods of killing wild birds unless authorized to do so by such a licence. The amendment makes it clear and has the effect that, if the hunting proposed using a firearm is either of protected wild animals or protected wild birds, or of any wild birds using a firearm that would be a prohibited method of killing, a licence will be required both from the Connétable and from the Minister for Planning and Environment.

The wild animals and wild birds that are protected are described in Schedule 1 to the 2000 Law.