Information from the court proceedings database held by the Ministry of Justice showing the number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for offences under the Badgers Act 1911, Deer Act 1991 and Wild Mammals Protection Act 1996, in England and Wales in 2007 is given in the following table:
Offence description Statute Proceeded against Found guilty Offence of cruelty to badgers and special protection for badgers and their setts Badgers Act 1973, as amended by Criminal Justice Act 1991 and Badgers Act 1991 20 6 Killing or injuring deer by shooting, trap, snares etc. Deer Act 1991 3 1 Offences under this act Wild Mammals Protection Act 1996 7 3 1The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 2Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice. (Job ref: 573-09).