The Governor may appoint as many fit and proper persons as he shall think fit to be Registrars of Brands within the colony, and may assign any part of the colony as a district to each such Registrar, and appoint a place therein at which shall be the registration office for the district.

The Governor also may appoint places at which shall be chief registration offices for areas of the colony embracing as many districts as the Governor may prescribe, and may also appoint any Registrar to be in charge of such chief offices respectively, and to discharge the duties of Chief Registrar within any of the aforesaid areas.

A copy of every registration effected during the month at the office of every Registrar, and of every alteration made in any register at such office, shall be transmitted within the first week of the ensuing month by the person in charge of such office to the Registrar at the chief office of the district.

Every register shall be open for inspection, without payment, by any Justice of the Peace, constable, or officer of any County or Borough Council, and by any other person, at all reasonable times, on payment of a fee of one shilling.

All brands which have heretofore been duly registered under any law in force within any provincial district shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to have been registered under this Act, and such registration shall, for a period of two years from the commencement of this Act, be in force within the district in which the stock bearing such brands may be depasturing at the time aforesaid.

The Registrar shall obtain, at the office of the person who was the Registrar of Brands in the provincial district, a copy of all the brands existing therein which at the commencement of this Act were registered for stock depasturing within the limits of the district.

Any such brand, however, shall be considered to be abandoned if the same is not registered afresh under this Act previous to the expiration of the aforesaid two years.

Every stockowner whose brand shall not have been registered before the commencement of this Act shall deliver to the Registrar of the district wherein his stock are running or are intended to run, for registration by him, a description of the brand which such owner uses or purposes to use in branding his stock, and shall deposit two correct copies or impressions of his brand with such Registrar; and every owner neglecting to register his brand shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding five pounds.

There shall be paid by the owner of every brand to the Registrar who shall register the same a fee of five shillings in respect of the registration of such brand.

No Registrar shall register any brand likely, in his opinion, to lead to mistakes or confusion.

If any two stockowners within the same district have the same or similar brands, the Registrar at the chief office for the district may require the owner who has used the brand during the shortest period of time within the district to alter his brand.

In case of any dispute the same shall be determined in a summary manner by any one Justice of the Peace.

Any owner who refuses or neglects to alter his brand accordingly when duly required so to do, and afterwards uses the said brand, shall be liable to the same penalties as are herein provided in the case of any person using another person’s brand.

Any stockowner having duly registered a brand may, by writing addressed to the Registrar at the chief office for the district, transfer his right to such brand to any other stockowner, or may relinquish his right to the said brand, and, upon the due receipt of such writing by such Registrar, he shall forthwith cause the registry of such brand in the general register of brands for the district to be transferred or cancelled, as the case may be.

After such cancellation any other stockowner may register such brand in his own name in the office aforesaid, and with the Registrar of the subdivision wherein his stock may be running, and may cause his stock to be branded therewith, as if such brand had not been previously registered.

In case it shall be proved to the satisfaction of any Registrar that any brand registered by him has not been used by the owner thereof or by his authority for at least twelve months previously, such brand shall be considered to have been relinquished, and shall be treated accordingly, and it shall be the duty of such Registrar to publicly notify that such brand has been so relinquished.

After any stockowner shall have registered a brand, no other person in the same district shall, without the authority of such stockowner, brand any stock with the same brand, or with any brand bearing the same mark or one so nearly similar as in the opinion of any Registrar to be not readily distinguishable therefrom, or make or cause to be made any branding-iron bearing the same or a nearly similar brand as aforesaid; and any person offending against this enactment shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding fifty pounds.

If any person shall brand any stock without the authority of the owner thereof, or shall deface or efface any brand or other distinguishing mark or impression upon any stock without such authority in writing, he shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding one hundred pounds; Provided that, if on the hearing of any information for a penalty under this section it shall appear that the defendant or person accused acted under the reasonable belief that he was owner of such stock, such information shall be dismissed.

The mark or impression of any registered brand upon any stock shall be primâ facie evidence of the ownership of the said stock by the person in whose name such brand shall be registered in the register of the district.

All sheep above the age of four months shall be branded with the registered brand of the owner, which shall be renewed from time to time so that the same shall be at all times legible; and for every such sheep not so branded the owner thereof shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding ten pounds.

Nothing in this Act shall be construed to oblige any one to brand any horses or cattle running upon fenced lands.

If any person shall wilfully shorten or otherwise mark the ear of any cattle, sheep, or horse belonging to any other person, he shall be liable to a penalty of not more than twenty pounds for each head of cattle and for each sheep or horse in respect of which such offence has been committed.

All fees, fines, and penalties imposed by this Act shall be recoverable in a summary manner, and shall be paid into the Public Account.

The several enactments enumerated in the Schedule hereto are hereby repealed, subject to the limitations in the said Schedule mentioned.

The Governor in Council may from time to time make, amend, and abolish rules and regulations for the instruction and guidance of all officers appointed under this Act, and for the general management of offices, and as to all other matters for carrying this Act into full effect; and such regulations upon being gazetted shall have the force of law as if expressed in this Act.