Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 1972

5 Powers of entry and inspection. N.I.

(1) An authorised officer may, on production of his authority if so required, at any reasonable time enter upon any land, other than premises used wholly or mainly as a dwelling, for the purpose of ascertaining whether an offence under this Part has been committed on the land.

(2) An authorised officer may take for analysis a sample of any substance which he finds on the land and which appears to him to be intended [1954 c.5] for use as food for livestock; and the provisions of subsections (2) to (7) of section 6 of the Agriculture (Poisonous Substances) Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 (which relate to the dividing up, analysis and evidence of analysis of certain samples) shall have effect in relation to a sample taken under this section as they have effect in relation to a sample taken under the said section 6 but as if for references to that Act, an inspector and such an employer as is mentioned in the said section 6 there were substituted respectively references to this Part, the officer taking the sample and a person appearing to that officer to have custody of the substance in question.

(3) An authorised officer may examine any livestock which he finds on the land and apply to and take from the livestock such tests and samples as he considers appropriate; and an officer by whom a sample is taken from livestock in pursuance of this subsection shall, if before the sample is taken he is requested to do so by any person appearing to him to have custody of the livestock, deliver a part of the sample or a similar sample to the person who made the request.

(4) Where an authorised officer requests any person present on the land, being the occupier or a servant of the occupier of the land or a person having the custody of any livestock present on the land,—

(a) to indicate to the officer the places on the land used for the accommodation of livestock or for the storage or treatment of any substance intended for use as food for livestock; or

(b) to give such assistance to the officer as is reasonable in the circumstances,

it shall be the duty of the person to whom the request is addressed to comply with the request so far as he is able to do so.

(5) A person who fails to perform his duty under subsection (4) or otherwise wilfully obstructs or delays an authorised officer in the exercise of his functions under this section shall be guilty of an offence.