Animal Remedies Act, 1993

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Inspection by authorised officers, etc.

11.—(1) Where an authorised officer or member of the Garda Síochána or an officer of Customs and Excise has reasonable cause to suspect that—

(a) the manufacture, importation, preparation, handling, storage, transport, exportation, distribution, sale, supply or use of an animal remedy or any ingredient for an animal remedy is taking place or has taken place in, on, under or from any land, premises or in, on or from any vehicle,

(b) an offence is being or has been committed under this Act in, on, under or from any land, premises or in, on or from any vehicle,

(c) any land or premises is used for or in connection with the breeding, rearing, fattening, keeping, exhibiting, selling or transporting of animals,

(d) any land or premises is a slaughterhouse or is used for or in connection with the slaughter of animals,

(e) in, on, under or from any land or premises or in, on or from any vehicle, there is or was any animal of any species to which an animal remedy is being or has been administered or there is or was any food derived from such an animal or any carcase of such an animal, or

(f) in, on, under or from any land or premises or in, on or from any vehicle, there is or was any animal remedy, or any ingredients for animal remedies, or any machinery, instruments or other thing used in the manufacture, preparation, handling, storage, transport, exportation, distribution, sale, supply or use of animal remedies or ingredients for animal remedies,

such authorised officer or member of the Garda Síochána or officer of Customs and Excise (in this section referred to as “the relevant person”) may, subject to subsection (2), stop any such vehicle or enter (if necessary by force) any such land or premises, or land or premises used in connection with such land or premises, or any such vehicle, and there, or at any other place, and with such authorised officers, members of the Garda Síochána and officers of Customs and Excise (if any) as the relevant person considers appropriate—

(i) search for and examine, inspect or test any animals, food derived from animals or carcases of animals or anything believed to be an animal remedy or an ingredient for an animal remedy or anything to which paragraph (f) relates,

(ii) take such specimens (including blood, urine, faeces, tissue or remains of implants) from any animals, food derived from animals or carcases of animals, and may for that purpose perform or cause to be performed any procedure (including surgery) as is considered necessary on such animals, food or carcases,

(iii) take such reasonable samples of or from any substances or of or from a thing which may be considered appropriate for the purposes of this Act,

(iv) seize and detain anything to which paragraph (f) relates or anything which is believed to be or to contain an animal remedy or an ingredient for an animal remedy kept, used or intended to be used in contravention of the provisions of this Act,

(v) search for and examine any document and take extracts from and copies of any such document,

(vi) seize and detain an animal—

(I) in respect of which it is, with reasonable grounds, believed by the relevant person that a prohibited animal remedy or ingredient for an animal remedy has been administered to it in contravention of this Act or of regulations made or continued in force or deemed to have been made under this Act, and

(II) in relation to which either or both—

(A) the relevant person is aware that an application has been made or will be made for the destruction of the animal, and

(B) the relevant person has reasonable grounds for believing that the animal has been or may be moved in contravention of any notice duly served,

in accordance with regulations made or continued in force or deemed to have been made under this Act and which are for the time being in force,

(vii) require any person who is suspected to be, or to have been engaged in the manufacture, preparation, handling, storage, transport, exportation, distribution, sale, supply or use of, or any person who is suspected to have possession or control of or to have kept or to keep, any animal remedy, ingredient for an animal remedy, animal, food derived from animals, carcases of animals or anything to which paragraph (f) relates, or any person who is suspected to be, or to have been, engaged in the breeding, rearing, fattening, keeping, exhibiting, selling or transporting or in the possession or control of any animal—

(I) in the case of any documents in the possession or control of that person or any such remedy, ingredient, animal, food, carcase or thing, to produce them to the relevant person or any authorised officer, member of the Garda Síochána or officer of Customs and Excise,

(II) in the case of any information in relation to such document, remedy, animal, food, carcase or thing which may be required (including the source of that document, remedy, animal, food, carcase or thing), to furnish them to the relevant person or any authorised officer, member of the Garda Síochána or officer of Customs and Excise,

(viii) require any person, being the owner or the person in charge of animals, or the owner or occupier of, or employed in or on, lands or premises so entered to give assistance, to carry out such instructions and to give such information as may be reasonably necessary for the purposes of subparagraphs (i) to (vii), and

(ix) require any person who is for the time being in charge or control of any vehicle so stopped or entered—

(I) to refrain from moving it, and

(II) to give assistance, to carry out such instructions and to give such information as may be reasonably necessary for the purposes of subparagraphs (i) to (vii).

(2) The functions of a relevant person under this section may only be exercised in respect of a dwelling or so much of a vehicle or premises as constitutes a dwelling where the relevant person has reasonable cause to suspect that, before a search warrant could be sought in relation to the dwelling under section 12 , anything to which the said subsection (1) relates—

(a) is being destroyed or disposed, or

(b) is likely to be destroyed or disposed.

(3) An authorised officer, member of the Garda Síochána or officer of Customs and Excise accompanying the relevant person may exercise all the functions conferred on the relevant person by virtue of subsection (1) or (2).