Game Act 1775

Historical Context Note

Litencyc Editors (Independent Scholar - Europe)
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This act made it unlawful for anyone to trade in game. The aim of the Act was to stamp out the sale of game taken by poachers, but since it also made unlawful the sale of game legally taken, and therefore cut off legal supplies to innkeepers, alehousekeepers and victuallers, it drove them to purchase from poachers and thus caused an increase in poaching. The gentry responded by increasing the numbers of gamekeepers, and by pursuing poachers through civil prosecutions, which were more expensive and uncertain than criminal prosecutions but could result in much higher financial penalties, and if these went unpaid then longer periods in the debtor's prison. The increase in penalties, and in the clandestine demand, led poachers to organise in gangs and to threaten violence to any who opposed

146 words

Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Game Act 1775". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 24 August 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=7191, accessed 19 March 2024.]

7191 Game Act 1775 2 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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