Poaching

• This continued to be widespread, and there was a rise in gangs operating on a large scale.
• The 1723 Black Act made poaching a capital offence and also made it illegal to blacken your face (a form of disguise) in a hunting areas.
• Carrying snares or owning dogs that were suitable for poaching could be punished with a fine or prison sentence.
• The Black Act was widely resented as being unfair, not least because landowners with land worth over £100 a year were allowed to hunt without restrictions. From 1823 poaching was no longer punished by death.