No person shall take or kill any game in any district except within a consecutive period, to be fixed by notification, between the first day of May and the thirty-first day of July, both inclusive, and only between the hours of sunrise and sunset.

Such period shall not exceed three months in any year, and shall be deemed to be the “game season” for the purposes of this Act.

The Governor may declare, by notification, in which part or parts of a district game shall not be taken or killed, and declare the particular species of game which shall not be so taken or killed.

The Governor may in like manner declare that any description of imported bird is established in any district, and is to be considered as native game.

No game shall be poisoned on any pretence whatever.

No game shall be trapped or taken by means of traps, or by any other means than hunting or shooting, nor shall any trap, net, or snare be erected or set for the purpose of such trapping or taking at any time whatever, except by persons duly authorized under section twenty-three of this Act.

No person shall take or kill, or use any dog, gun, net, or other engine for the purpose of taking or killing any game, until such person shall have taken out a license to kill game under this Act, and paid the duty hereby made payable thereon.

If any person shall offend against the provisions of this section, he shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding twenty pounds.

No person in bonâ fide occupation of any land not being Crown lands, or some one person appointed by him, shall be prevented from taking or killing game upon any lands so occupied by such first-mentioned person within the periods allowed under this Act, or be liable to any penalty for so doing.

The Governor shall appoint a fit person or fit persons in each district to issue licenses to take or kill game.

Every such license shall be in the form of the First Schedule to this Act, and shall be issued and signed by the person appointed to issue such license, and be dated on the day when the same was actually issued, and be in force during the period specified in the license.

Such license shall only be issued upon payment of the duty payable for the same, being such sum not exceeding fifty shillings as may be fixed by notification.

No person shall sell game or dispose thereof for any gain or reward until he shall have taken out a license for that purpose and paid the duty thereon. Every such license shall be in the form of the Second Schedule to this Act, and shall be in force for a period ending on the seventh day after the close of any game season fixed under the powers herein contained.

Licenses to sell game shall be signed and issued by the same person or persons as under this Act are authorized to sign and issue licenses to take or kill game. The duty payable upon the issue of a license to sell game or any renewal thereof shall be five pounds.

If any person shall sell any game without having duly taken out and having in force such license as aforesaid, be shall, for every such act, be liable to a penalty of twenty pounds.

The holder of every license to take or kill game may sell game to any person holding a license to sell game without taking out any additional license to sell game.

Every person who shall sell, offer for sale, or expose for sale, and every holder of a license to sell game who shall have in his possession or shall in any manner dispose of any dead hen-pheasant, shall be liable to a penalty, for every such act, not exceeding twenty pounds.

If such person hold a license to take or kill game, or to sell game, every such license shall, on conviction, become ipso facto void.

Whenever the Chairman of any duly-registered acclimatization society shall certify in writing to any person authorized to issue licenses to take or kill game that any lands are actually and lawfully used by such society for its purposes, such lands shall be excepted from such licenses within the district in respect of which the same are issued.

Any person taking or killing any game upon any lands so excepted shall be deemed to be an unlicensed person within the provisions of this Act.

Any person who shall unlawfully take and destroy, or wilfully destroy, the eggs of any game birds shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding five pounds.

The Governor may declare, by notification, that imported birds, not being game, or any of them, may be taken or killed in such part or parts of a district as in such notification shall be described.

No such imported birds shall be taken or killed in any district except as hereinbefore mentioned.

And if any person offend against the provisions of this section he shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding ten pounds.

No native game shall be taken or killed in any district, except during such periods as may from time to time be fixed by notification, not exceeding four consecutive months in any year in respect of each bird mentioned in the Fourth Schedule.

The Governor may declare, by notification, that all or any of the provisions of this Act relating to native game shall not be in force in such parts of the colony as he shall in and by such notification define.

The Governor may declare, by notification, that any animal or bird, in addition to those mentioned in the several Schedules to this Act, shall come within the operation of this Act.

But no indigenous animals or birds shall at any time be deemed to be “game.”

The Governor may declare, by notification, that any of the animals or birds mentioned in the several Schedules to this Act, or which may have been proclaimed to come within the provisions of “The Protection of Animals Act, 1873,” or which may be declared to come within the operation of this Act, shall cease to be within its operation.

He may in like manner declare that any of the animals or birds declared by this Act to be game or native game, or which have been or shall hereafter be declared to be game as aforesaid, shall cease to be deemed game or native game within the provisions of this Act.

Nothing in this Act shall prevent the owner of any animal or bird (except those enumerated in section twenty-eight) from keeping the same in confinement or in a domesticated state, or from offering for sale or selling, or from taking or killing, any such animal or bird so kept in confinement or in a domesticated state; and it shall be lawful for any person to buy or offer to buy any such animal or bird.

No person shall sell or offer for sale, or buy or offer to buy, any game or native game, except during the periods within which it shall be lawful to take or kill game or native game, as the case may be, or, as respects any game, within the period of seven days after the close of the game season fixed under this Act.

Any person offending against the provisions of this section shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding five pounds.

The Colonial Secretary may, in writing, authorize any person, or the servants of any such person, to catch or take any such animals or birds, or the eggs of any such birds, for the purpose of distributing, changing, or turning out the same in some other country or in some other part of the colony.

But nothing herein contained shall be deemed to authorize any person to commit a trespass.

No person or persons shall be deemed to be so authorized to catch or to take, or shall catch or take, any animals or birds, or the eggs of such birds, unless be or they shall have obtained authority from the Colonial Secretary as before provided.

No such authority shall in any case have any force or effect for a longer period than twelve calendar months from the date thereof.

Except as in this Act provided, no person shall have in his possession any game or native game, except during the periods fixed under this Act, without lawful excuse, the proof whereof shall be on the party charged.

Any such game or native game found in the possession of any person shall be presumed to have been taken or killed by such person contrary to the provisions of this Act, until proof to the contrary be given.

If any person whatever shall at any time commit any trespass by entering or being upon any land in the search or pursuit of game or native game, such person shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding twenty pounds:

But any person charged with any such trespass shall be at liberty to prove by way of defence any matter which would have been a defence to an action at law for such trespass.

Any person found trespassing with gun, or dog and gun, shall prima facie be deemed to be in pursuit of game, and subject to the provisions of this Act.

No person shall introduce any fox, venomous reptile, hawk, vulture, or other bird of prey into the colony, or liberate or allow to go at large any fox, venomous reptile, hawk, vulture, or other bird of prey which may have already been introduced, or to have any fox, venomous reptile, hawk, vulture, or other bird of prey not indigenous to the colony in his possession.

Every person offending against the provisions of this section shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding one hundred pounds, and in default of payment to be imprisoned for a period of not more than six months.

Every person in pursuit of game shall produce his license to any authorized person demanding such production; and any person in pursuit of game or native game who shall refuse or neglect so to produce such license or to give his name or place of residence or address, or who shall give a false name or place of residence or address, shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding twenty pounds.

No person shall kill or destroy any game or native game, or shoot at or attempt to shoot at any game or native game, with an instrument known as a swivel-gun.

If any person shall offend against this provision he shall forfeit and pay a penalty not exceeding ten pounds, besides any other penalty he may have incurred.

The Governor may appoint one or more fit and proper persons to be Rangers in each district, whose duty it shall be to take care that the provisions of this Act are complied with in the district for which he or they may be appointed.

All duties paid for licenses, and all fines and penalties which may be recovered by virtue of this Act, shall be paid into the Public Account, and be applied,—

In the first instance, in or towards defraying the salaries and expenses of the Rangers to be appointed as aforesaid, and any other expenses of carrying into effect the provisions of this Act:

The balance shall be handed to the Treasurer of some registered acclimatization society in the district in which such fees or fines shall have been paid or recovered, for the purposes of such society:

If there shall be more than one such society in a district, then such balance shall be divided between all the societies or paid to such one or more of them as the Governor in his discretion may direct;

And, if there shall be no such society, shall form part of the Consolidated Fund.

All penalties created by this Act shall be recoverable in a summary way, and any part not exceeding one-half of any fine recovered under this Act shall be paid to the person or persons who shall be instrumental in procuring any such conviction, in such proportion as the convicting Justices shall specify.

Any acclimatization society may register its rules by depositing a copy of the same, or of any alteration thereof, signed by the chairman of such society, and countersigned by three of the members thereof, in the office of the Colonial Secretary.

As soon as conveniently may be after such deposit, a notification thereof shall be published; and every society so registered shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be a duly-registered acclimatization society.

The rules so to be registered shall not be repugnant to this Act, or to any of the laws relating to the importation or protection of animals or birds for the time being in force.

For the purposes of this Act the property in all animals and birds in the possession or under the control of any registered acclimatization society shall be deemed to be absolutely vested in the chairman for the time being of such society.

In case any registered acclimatization society shall have turned at large or shall hereafter turn at large any animals or birds, not indigenous, for the purpose of increase, it shall be the duty of such society forthwith to notify the same in a newspaper circulating within the district in which such animals or birds shall be so turned at large, not less than twice in each of two successive weeks.

The Governor may declare by notification that the property in every such animal or bird so turned at large, and its offspring, and every bird and animal of a like species at large in such district, shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be absolutely vested in the chairman of the said society for any period not exceeding three years, to be stated in such notification.

“The Protection of Animals Act, 1873,” and “The Protection of Animals Act Amendment Act, 1875,” are hereby repealed.

But all appointments made under the repealed Acts, and all Proclamations, licenses, or authorities issued thereunder and in force at the date of the passing of this Act, shall respectively be deemed to have been made and issued under this Act.