Wildlife Act, 1976

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PART III

Regulation and control of wildlife dealing and the transport, import and export of wildlife

Sale, purchase and possession of fauna restricted.

45.—(1) A person who is not a licensed wildlife dealer shall not sell, keep for sale, purchase for resale, or engage in taxidermy in respect of—

(a) a protected wild bird or protected wild animal, whether alive or dead, or

(b) the eggs of a protected wild bird.

(2) Subject to subsections (3) and (8) of this section and to sections 22 (5), 23 (7) (d) and 42 of this Act, a person who is not a licensed wildlife dealer shall not have in his possession a protected wild bird or a protected wild animal, whether alive or dead, or the eggs of a protected wild bird.

(3) Subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to—

(a) the sale by a person of any live specimen of a protected wild bird or protected wild animal solely for the purposes of propagating, or of improving the quality of, such species,

(b) the sale by a person of live hares to a coursing club affiliated to the Irish Coursing Club,

(c) the sale to a licensed wildlife dealer by a person of any protected wild bird or protected wild animal lawfully killed by him,

(d) the sale by any person, who has obtained the prior permission of the Minister so to do, of any lawfully killed such wild bird or wild animal.

(4) A person who is the owner, manager or person otherwise in charge of any hotel, guest house, inn, restaurant, public eating house, registered club within the meaning of the Registration of Clubs Acts, 1904 to 1962, or any other premises in which meals are provided for reward, shall not purchase a protected wild bird or a protected wild animal otherwise than from a licensed wildlife dealer, unless such person is himself such a dealer.

(5) A person mentioned in subsection (4) of this section who is not a licensed wildlife dealer shall keep in such form as the Minister approves a record of all purchases of protected wild birds or protected wild animals made in relation to the premises so mentioned and of which he is the owner or manager or of which he is otherwise in charge, and records kept pursuant to this subsection shall be kept available for inspection at the said premises by an authorised person on demand at any reasonable time.

(6) An authorised person may inspect and, if he thinks fit, take copies of any entry in any record kept pursuant to subsection (5) of this section.

(7) A person who contravenes subsection (1), (2), or (4) of this section or who fails to comply with the requirements of subsection (5) of this section, shall be guilty of an offence.

(8) In any proceedings for an offence under this section in which it is alleged that subsection (2) of this section was contravened, it shall be a defence for the defendant to prove that—

(a) he either had lawfully acquired the wild bird, wild animal or eggs, as may be appropriate, before the commencement of this section or had acquired it or them from a person who had lawfully acquired it or them,

(b) in case the alleged offence relates to a protected wild bird or a protected wild animal, he had lawfully killed or captured it or had lawfully acquired it from a person who had lawfully killed or captured it.

(9) Nothing in this section shall make unlawful the possession consequent upon any other thing which is either—

(a) done pursuant to and in accordance with a licence or permission granted under this Act, or

(b) permitted to be done by or under any statute other than this Act,

of a protected wild bird or a protected wild animal or the eggs of a protected wild bird.

(10) References in this section to a protected wild bird or a protected wild animal shall, except in relation to taxidermy, be construed as including references to the flesh of such a bird or animal, and in relation to taxidermy the said references in this section shall be construed as including references to the skin, plumage or any other part of such a bird or animal.