Endangered Species (Import and Export) Act 1976

4 Offence to sell etc. things imported contrary to section 1 or their derivatives. U.K.

(1) [F1 Subject to subsections (1B) and (2)] below, a person who sells, offers or exposes for sale, has in his possession [F2 or transports] for the purpose of sale, or displays to the public,—

(a) anything which has been imported contrary to section 1 above, or

(b) anything which is made wholly or partly from anything referred to in paragraph (a) above and which at the time of the alleged offence (though not necessarily at the time of importation) constitutes an item to which Schedule 3 to this Act for the time being applies,

shall be guilty of an offence; . . . F3 .

[F4 (1A) Subject to subsections (1B) and (2) below, a person who sells, offers or exposes for sale, or has in his possession or transports for the purpose of sale—

(a) a live or dead animal of any of the kinds to which Schedule 4 of this Act for the time being applies or an egg or other immature stage of such an animal;

(b) a live or dead plant of any of the kinds to which Schedule 5 to this Act for the time being applies; or

(c) any part of or anything which derives from or is made wholly or partly from anything referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) above,

shall be guilty of an offence; but nothing in this subsection shall apply in relation to anything falling within subsection (1) above or anything which has been imported, or is a part of or derives from or is made wholly or partly from anything which has been imported, before the passing of the M1 Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

(1B) Subsections (1) and (1A) above do not apply to anything done under and in accordance with the terms of a licence issued by the Secretary of State; and subsections (4) to (7) of section 1 above shall apply in relation to a licence issued under this subsection as they apply in relation to a licence issued under subsection (2) of that section.

(1C) In the following provisions of this section “restricted article” means anything falling within subsection (1) or (1A) above.]

(2) A person shall not be guilty of an offence under subsection (1) [F5 or (1A)] above with respect to a restricted article if he proves to the satisfaction of the court—

(a) that at the time when it first came into his possession he made such enquiries (if any) as in the circumstances were reasonable in order to ascertain whether it was a restricted article, and

(b) that, at the time the alleged offence was committed, he had no reason to believe that it was a restricted article.

(3) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2)(a) above, a person shall be taken to have made such enquiries as are there mentioned if he produces to the court a certificate which was furnished by the person from whom the accused obtained possession of the restricted article (the supplier), which was signed by the supplier or by a person authorised by him, and which states that—

(a) the supplier made enquiries at the time the restricted article came into his possession in order to ascertain whether it was a restricted article, and

(b) the supplier had no reason to believe at the time he relinquished possession of the restricted article to the accused that the article was at that time a restricted article.

(4) A person who furnishes for the purposes of subsection (3) above a certificate which he knows to be false in a material particular, or recklessly furnishes for those purposes a certificate which is false in a material particular, shall be guilty of an offence.

(5) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) [F6 , (1A)] or (4) above shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £400;

(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or a fine, or both.

(6) In this section any reference to sale includes references to [F7 hire] barter and exchange.

(7) For the purposes of this section a restricted article is displayed to the public if it is displayed to the public generally or any section of it, and (in either case) whether in return for money or otherwise.

(8) For the purposes of any proceedings under [F8 section 50 or 170 of the M2 Customs and Excise Management Act 1979] (penalties for improper importation and evasion of restriction on importation) for an offence in connection with the importation of anything contrary to section 1 above, this section shall not be taken expressly to provide a penalty for that offence.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words substituted by Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (c. 69, SIF 4:5), s. 15, Sch. 10 para. 5(1)

F2 Words inserted by Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (c. 69, SIF 4:5), s. 15, Sch. 10 para. 5(1)

F3 Words repealed by Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (c. 69, SIF 4:5), s. 15, Sch. 10 para. 5(1)

F4 S. 4(1A)–(1C) inserted by Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (c. 69, SIF 4:5), s. 15, Sch. 10 para. 5(2)

F5 Words inserted by Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (c. 69, SIF 4:5), s. 15, Sch. 10 para. 5(3)

F6 Words inserted by Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (c. 69, SIF 4:5), s. 15, Sch. 10 para. 5(4)

F7 Word inserted by Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (c. 69, SIF 4:5), s. 15, Sch. 10 para. 5(5)

F8 Words substituted by Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (c. 2, SIF 40:1), Sch. 4 para. 12

Marginal Citations

M1 1981 c. 69(4:5)

M2 1979 c. 2(40:1)