Commentary on Sections Wildlife inspector powers enhanced
143.Wildlife inspectors are currently authorised under section 19ZA(1) of the 1981 Act. Under the Schedule 5 amendments, they will in future be authorised under a new section 18A. The powers of the inspectors currently found in sections 19ZA and 19ZB(3) and (4) are re-enacted and extended under new sections 18B and 18C for what are to be known as “Group 1 offences”, and under new sections 18D and 18E for what are to be known as “Group 2 offences”.
144.The “Group 2 offences” are those currently dealt with under sections 19ZA and 19ZB(3) and (4) of the 1981 Act. These offences mainly relate to licensing of captive, ringed and registered birds, and certain other licences for other animals and plants. Many captive birds are kept in dwellings, and therefore section 18D includes a power for inspectors to enter dwellings except in the case of enforcement of section 14 of the 1981 Act (introduction of new species etc.).
145.The “Group 1 offences” are offences not covered by the existing powers of enforcement of the wildlife inspectors under Part 1 of the 1981 Act. These offences mainly deal with animals, birds and plants that are found in the wild and of which it is rare for any person to have possession or control.
146.Offences in connection with all enforcement powers (whether in relation to the police or the wildlife inspectors) appear in new section 19XB; and these offences include obstructing a wildlife inspector acting in the exercise of his powers, not providing reasonable assistance, failure to make specimens available for inspection and falsely pretending to be a wildlife inspector.
147.Finally, paragraph 5 of Schedule 5 amends section 21 of the 1981, which sets out the penalties for the offences in new section 19XB.