Chapter V

Miscellaneous

41. —(1) The Minister may make regulations—

(a) regulating hunting by means of eagles, hawks, falcons and other birds of the order Falconiformes trained to hawk for sport, or otherwise governing the practice of falconry,

(b) regulating the taking of eagles, hawks, falcons and other birds of the order Falconiformes for training to hawk for sport,

(c) regulating the possession, breeding, training to hawk for sport, display or exhibition of eagles, hawks, falcons and other birds of the order Falconiformes,

(d) providing that a person shall not, save under and in accordance with a licence granted in that behalf by the Minister—

(i) engage in falconry,

(ii) have in his possession or under his control any eagle, hawk or falcon or the eggs or young of any eagle, hawk or falcon,

(e) providing for the payment of prescribed fees by applicants for licences granted by the Minister for the purposes of this section,

(f) providing for any matters ancillary or incidental to any of the foregoing.

(2) The Minister may grant licences for the purposes of this section.

42. —(1) Where damage is being caused by protected wild birds or by protected wild animals to—

(a) livestock, poultry or agricultural crops (including vegetables or fruit) either on pasture or on cultivated land,

(b) pen-reared wild birds on any land,

(c) other fauna,

(d) flora,

(e) a woodland or a forest plantation, or

(f) a fishery,

notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the Minister may cause to be taken by a person authorised by him in that behalf (who is hereby empowered to take) such steps, including entering on any land and the capture or killing of any such wild bird or any such wild animal, as he thinks appropriate to stop the damage.

(2) Where damage described in subsection (1) of this section is being caused, the Minister may, before exercising in relation to the damage the powers conferred on him by subsection (1) of this section, require the person who is the owner or is in occupation of the property being damaged to give to him an indemnity indemnifying the Minister, or any person acting on his behalf, against all claims relating to anything done by or on behalf of the Minister by virtue of the said subsection (1) in relation to the damage.

(3) Where damage described in subsection (1) of this section is being caused, the owner or occupier of the property to which the damage is being caused, or any other person duly authorised by the owner or occupier in that behalf, may apply to the Minister for a permission under this section.

(4) An application to the Minister for a permission under this section shall include particulars of the damage in relation to which the application is made and in case the Minister decides to grant the permission, notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the permission shall, subject to its terms, operate to enable the owner or occupier, or any other person duly authorised to act on his behalf, to capture or kill any protected wild bird or any protected wild animal which the owner, occupier or other person reasonably believes is causing the damage and to take such other steps (if any) to stop the damage as are specified in the permission.

(5) An application for a permission under this section may be made to the Minister, to the forester in charge of any forest owned by the Minister or to any other person who is authorised for the time being by the Minister to receive such applications.

(6) In addition to the foregoing, the following provisions shall apply in relation to a permission granted under this section:

(a) the permission shall be valid only for such period as is specified therein,

(b) particulars of all protected wild birds and protected wild animals captured or killed pursuant to the permission shall be furnished to the Minister by the person to whom the permission is given at such times and in such form as is specified in the permission,

(c) the Minister may grant the permission subject to a condition that—

(i) any capture pursuant to the permission is to be effected by a specified means,

(ii) any wild bird or any wild animal captured pursuant to the permission shall be removed to a place specified by the Minister for subsequent release or be disposed of in such other manner as may be so specified.

(7) The powers conferred on the Minister by this section are in addition to, and not in substitution for, the powers conferred on the Minister by sections 59 and 60 of the Act of 1946.

43. —(1) Where the Commissioners propose to undertake either—

(a) a drainage scheme within the meaning of the Arterial Drainage Act, 1945 , which is one to which this section applies, or

(b) any other land drainage scheme,

in respect of an area which includes land to which an establishment order, a recognition order or a designation order applies, or land to which an agreement made under section 18 of this Act applies, the Commissioners shall, before commencing the scheme, consult the Minister to ascertain if and to what extent the proposed scheme if carried out would affect or interfere with the suitability of the land affected by the scheme for a nature reserve or refuge, as may be appropriate, and take all practicable steps including, where appropriate, the limitation of the drainage scheme to minimise or avoid such effect or interference.

(2) This section applies to any drainage scheme within the meaning of the Arterial Drainage Act, 1945 , not being a scheme of which a copy has been exhibited in accordance with section 5 of that Act before the commencement of this section.

44. —(1) Any person who not being the owner or occupier of land—

(a) with a firearm or with a device, instrument or missile mentioned in section 72 (7) of this Act hunts a wild bird or wild animal on the land or moves or drives such a bird or such an animal off the land in order so to hunt it,

(b) enters on the land for the purpose of so hunting wild birds or wild animals,

(c) carries on the land any firearm, net, or other weapon, instrument or device capable of being used for hunting a wild bird or a wild animal, or

(d) shoots over or into the land,

without the permission either of the person who is the owner or the occupier of the land or, in case some other person is entitled to enjoy sporting rights over the land, that other person, shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) Where a person who is neither the owner nor the occupier of land carries on the land a firearm, other weapon or device (or a part thereof) described in paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of this section, any of the following persons may demand of him (and take when given) his name and address, namely:

(a) the owner or occupier of the land or a person authorised by him to exercise on his behalf the powers exercisable by such owner or occupier under this section,

(b) a person who is entitled to enjoy sporting rights over the land or some other person so authorised by him to exercise on his behalf the powers exercisable by him under this section,

(c) the holder, or a person deemed pursuant to section 29 (5) of this Act to be the holder, of a licence granted under that section;

provided that the power conferred by this section on a person mentioned in paragraph (c) of this subsection shall only be exercisable on the production by him of either a current licence granted to him pursuant to the said section 29 or a current firearm certificate granted to him and endorsed in accordance with the requirements of subsection (8) of that section.

(3) A person who refuses or who fails to give his correct name and address on a demand therefor being duly made pursuant to this section or who on such demand gives a name and address which is false or misleading shall be guilty of an offence.

(4) Summary proceedings for an offence under this section may be prosecuted by—

(a) a person who at the time at which the offence is alleged to have been committed (in this subsection referred to as the relevant time) is the owner or is in occupation of the land in relation to which the offence is alleged (in this subsection referred to as the relevant land),

(b) any individual who as regards the relevant land is at the relevant time entitled to enjoy sporting rights over such land,

(c) and in the name of the person who at the relevant time is the secretary of a recognised body which at such time is entitled to enjoy sporting rights over the relevant land;

provided that such an offence shall only be prosecuted by the secretary of a recognised body if,

(i) prior to the relevant time a notice stating that sporting rights specified in the notice over land so specified have been reserved for the body is published in a newspaper circulating in the area in which the relevant land is situate, and

(ii) the land so specified comprises or includes the relevant land.

(5) The Minister may by regulations declare any association, club, society or other body of persons which has for or amongst its objects the conservation of game to be a recognised body for the purposes of this section, and any body to which regulations under this subsection for the time being relate is in this section referred to as a recognised body.

(6) Subject to compliance with the requirements of the proviso to subsection (4) of this section, a notice published for the purposes of section 15 of the Game Preservation Act, 1930 (repealed by this Act), shall be regarded as having been published for the purposes of this Act.

(7) In any proceedings for an offence under this section it shall not be necessary for the prosecutor to prove that a defendant was on the land without lawful authority and, in case a defendant claims that he was on the land with lawful authority, the onus of proving such authority shall be on the defendant.

(8) In this section “game” means any exempted wild mammal or any protected wild bird which is of a species specified in an order under section 24 of this Act.