The Black Act (9 Geo. 1 c. 22), was instituted in 1723 by George I in response to the Waltham deer poachers. It made it a felony (that is, a hanging offence) to appear armed in a park or warren, or to hunt or steal deer, with the face blackened or disguised. The Act was later amended to deal with protestors outside the royal forests and chases, becoming a brutal adjunct to the Riot Act of 1715. The Black Act was repealed in 1827.
Subsequent acts inflicting heavy penalties for malicious injuries to livestock and machinery have also been called black acts.
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