Preliminary
1Protected animals
1
Subject to the provisions of this section, " a protected animal" for the purposes of this Act means any living vertebrate other than man.
2
Any such vertebrate in its foetal, larval or embryonic form is a protected animal only from the stage of its development when—
a
in the case of a mammal, bird or reptile, half the gestation or incubation period for the relevant species has elapsed; and
b
in any other case, it becomes capable of independent feeding.
3
The Secretary of State may by order—
a
extend the definition of protected animal so as to include invertebrates of any description ;
b
alter the stage of development specified in subsection (2) above;
c
make provision in lieu of subsection (2) above as respects any animal which becomes a protected animal by virtue of an order under paragraph (a) above.
4
For the purposes of this section an animal shall be regarded as continuing to live until the permanent cessation of circulation or the destruction of its brain.
5
In this section " vertebrate " means any animal of the Sub-phylum Vertebrata of the Phylum Chordata and " invertebrate " means any animal not of that Sub-phylum.