Wildlife Act, 1976

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Definitions.

2.—(1) In this Act—

“the Act of 1919” means the Acquisition of Land (Assessment of Compensation) Act, 1919 ;

“the Act of 1946” means the Forestry Act, 1946 ;

“the Act of 1956” means the Forestry Act, 1956 ;

“agriculture” includes horticulture;

“airgun” means any weapon, including an air-rifle or air-pistol, incorporating a barrel from which metal or other slugs can be discharged;

“authorised person” means a person who is appointed under section 72 of this Act by the Minister to be an authorised person for the purposes of this Act;

“the Board”, except in section 14 and the Second Schedule hereto, means An Bord Pleanála;

“building operation” has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Factories Act, 1955 ;

“the Commissioners” means the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland;

“conservation” includes management and regulation of the use of land in relation to the interests of wildlife and, where appropriate, development and improvement of land having regard to those interests;

“the Council” means the body established by section 13 of this Act;

“designation order” has the meaning assigned to it by section 17 of this Act;

“establishment order” has the meaning assigned to it by section 15 of this Act;

“exempted wild mammal” has the meaning assigned to it by section 25 of this Act;

“falconry” means hunting by means of birds of the order Falconiformes which are trained to hawk for sport;

“fauna” means all wild animals (both aquatic and terrestrial) and includes in particular wild birds, wild mammals, reptiles, non-aquatic invertebrate animals and amphibians, and all such wild animals' eggs and young, but in relation to fish or aquatic invertebrate animals (or their eggs or spawn or brood or young) only includes fish and such aquatic invertebrate animals which are of a species specified in regulations under section 23 of this Act which are for the time being in force;

“firearm” means any lethal firearm or other lethal weapon of any description (including an airgun) from which any shot, bullet, slug or other missile can be discharged;

“flora” means all plants (both aquatic and terrestrial) which occur in the wild (whether within or outside the State) and are not trees, shrubs or other plants being grown in the course of agriculture or horticulture and includes in particular lichens, mosses, liverworts, fungi, algae and vascular plants, namely flowering plants, ferns and fern-allied plants and any community of such plants;

“foreshore” has the same meaning as in section 1 of the Foreshore Act, 1933 ;

“functions” includes powers and duties;

“hares order” means an order made by the Minister under section 25 of this Act and in which any species of hare is specified;

“hunt” means stalk, pursue, chase, drive, flush, capture, course, attract, follow, search for, lie in wait for, take, trap or shoot by any means whether with or without dogs, and, except in sections 28 and 29, includes killing in the course of hunting, but does not in this Act include stalking, attracting, searching for or lying in wait for any fauna by an unarmed person solely for the purpose of watching or of taking or making photographic or other pictures, and kindred words shall be construed accordingly;

“inland waters” means any waters comprised in the internal or inland waters of the State;

“interest” includes any estate, term, easement or profit à prendre;

“land”, where the context admits, includes land covered by water and in relation to the acquisition of land also includes any easement, profit à prendre or other right in, to or over land or water (including any easement, profit à prendre or other right granted to or held by the Minister);

“the Lay Commissioners” means the Commissioners of the Irish Land Commission other than the Judicial Commissioner;

“licensed wildlife dealer” means a person who for the time being is the holder of a wildlife dealer's licence;

“local authority” means a local authority for the purposes of the Local Government Act, 1941 ;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Lands;

“owner” in relation to land means—

(a) where the land is vested under the Land Purchase Acts in the Irish Land Commission, but not in the tenant-purchaser or purchaser thereof, the person who is for the time being the tenant-purchaser or the purchaser, as the case may be, of such land, and

(b) in any other case, the owner of the lowest estate in the land constituting an estate saleable under the Land Purchase Acts;

“planning authority” means a planning authority for the purposes of the Local Government (Planning and Development) Acts, 1963 and 1976 ;

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister under this Act;

“protected wild animal” has the meaning assigned to it by section 23 (4) of this Act;

“protected wild bird” has the meaning assigned to it by section 22 (3) of this Act;

“recognition order” has the meaning assigned to it by section 16 of this Act;

“regulated coursing match” means a coursing match held in accordance with the rules for such matches which are for the time being both published and approved by the Irish Coursing Club pursuant to the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958 ;

“species” includes subspecies and hybrids;

“sporting rights” does not include fishing rights;

“the territorial seas of the State” means the portion of the sea which for the purposes of the Maritime Jurisdiction Act, 1959 , is the territorial seas of the State;

“wild bird” includes the unflown young of a wild bird;

“wildlife dealer” means any person who carries on the business of wildlife dealing;

“wildlife dealer's licence” has the meaning assigned to it by section 48 of this Act;

“wild duck” means wild duck of any species;

“wild mammal” includes both aquatic and terrestrial wild mammals and their young;

“wildlife” means fauna and flora;

“work of engineering construction” has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Factories Act, 1955 .

(2) Any reference in this Act to sale includes a reference to disposing by way of barter, offering for sale and inviting an offer to buy and words in this Act which are kindred to sale shall be construed accordingly, and except in section 47 and section 55 any reference in this Act to purchase includes a reference to acquiring by way of barter, offering to purchase and inviting an offer to sell.

(3) For the purposes of this Act the business of wildlife dealing means the business of buying for resale any protected wild birds or protected wild animals and includes engaging in taxidermy in respect of such birds or animals.

(4) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as prohibiting or restricting the doing by any person, whether as an employee or otherwise, of any act, other than the killing of fauna, which is done by that person in assisting another person lawfully to hunt fauna.