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Powers of inspection, examination and detention.
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29.—(1) Any member of the Gárda Síochána and also any person authorised by the Minister to exercise the powers conferred by this section is hereby authorised and empowered to do all or any of the following things, that is to say:—
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(a) to stop and search any person conveying or believed to be conveying game of any kind and to inspect any game which such person is found to be conveying and for that purpose to open and search any vehicle or package in which such game is or may be or is believed to be conveyed and to enter on any land for the purpose of doing all or any of the things mentioned in this paragraph;
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(b) at all reasonable times to enter upon and have free access to the interior of—
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(i) any premises in which game is or is believed to be sold, or kept, exposed, or stored for sale, or
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(ii) the premises of any person engaged in the business of carrying goods for reward, or
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(iii) any pier, quay, wharf, jetty, dock or dock premises, or
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(iv) any ship, boat, railway waggon, motor lorry, cart, or other vessel or vehicle used for the conveyance of goods;
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(c) to examine all game found in any place which he is authorised by the next foregoing paragraph of this section to enter and for that purpose to open any package found in such place and containing or believed to contain game;
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(d) to stop, enter and search on any river, lake or estuary, or the shores thereof or any part of the sea or the shores thereof any boat, punt, corach, or other vessel used or believed to be used for the purpose of killing or taking game or containing or suspected of containing any game illegally killed or taken and to examine all game found therein and for that purpose to open any package which contains or is suspected of containing any such game as aforesaid;
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(e) to take, remove, and detain in his custody any game (either together with or without any package in which the same may be contained) found in the course of the exercise of any of the powers conferred by this section in respect of which an offence under this Act is being or is suspected of being committed or which has been or is suspected of having been illegally killed or taken;
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(f) to take, remove, and detain in his custody any trap, snare, net or other instrument used in taking game which is liable or is believed to be liable to forfeiture under this Act;
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(g) to demand and take the name and address of the person having custody of any game or other article which he is authorised under this section to examine and also to demand and take from such person the name and address of the owner of such game or other article.
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(2) Where any person detains in his custody under the authority of this section any game or other article he shall as soon as conveniently may be take such steps as may be proper to have the person guilty or believed to be guilty of the offence committed or believed to have been committed in relation to such game or other article dealt with according to law.
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(3) Where any person detains in his custody under the authority of this section any dead game and such game is likely to become unfit for human food before the matter can be conveniently dealt with by any court, such person shall produce such game to a peace commissioner and, if authorised so to do by such peace commissioner, shall destroy such game.
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(4) A peace commissioner to whom any dead game is produced in pursuance of this section shall, if he is of opinion that the game ought in the circumstances to be destroyed, give to the person producing the game a certificate in writing describing the game and any marks, peculiarities, or other particulars thereof pointed out to him by such person and authorising such person to destroy the game, which certificate shall be conclusive evidence in every court of all such matters of fact as aforesaid stated therein.
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(5) No person shall be liable for any loss or damage occasioned by or in the course of the exercise of any of the powers conferred on him by this section unless such loss or damage was caused by such person wantonly or maliciously.
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(6) Every person who shall obstruct or impede any person in the exercise of any of the powers conferred on him by this section or shall refuse to give his own name and address or the name and address of any other person (so far as the same is known to him) when lawfully demanded under this section shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding ten pounds.
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