45.—F146[(1) A person who is not a licensed wildlife dealer shall not keep, transport, sell or exchange, keep for sale or exchange, offer for sale or exchange, purchase for resale or exchange or engage in taxidermy in respect of—

(a) a protected wild bird or protected wild animal, at any stage of its life, whether alive or dead, or any parts products or derivatives of such wild bird or animal

(b) the eggs of a protected wild bird or the eggs or spawn of a protected wild animal, or any parts, products or derivatives thereof,

(c) fauna, at any stage of its life, whether alive or dead, set out in F147[Part 1 or 2 of the First Schedule to the European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011], and being fauna within the meaning of this Act,

and shall not publish or cause to be published any advertisement, catalogue, circular or price list likely to be understood as conveying that such a person buys or sells, or intends to buy or sell, or engages in taxidermy in respect of any protected wild bird or protected wild animal.]

(2) Subject to subsections (3) and (8) of this section and to F148[sections 22(5), 23(7)(d), 31 and 42 of this Act], a person who is not a licensed wildlife dealer shall not have in his possession a protected wild bird or a protected wild animal, whether alive or dead, or the eggs of a protected wild bird F149[or the eggs or spawn of a protected wild animal or any part, product or derivative thereof.]

(3) Subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to—

(a) the sale by a person F150[, who has obtained the prior permission of the Minister in writing so to do,] of any live specimen of a protected wild bird or protected wild animal solely for the purposes of propagating, or of improving the quality of, such species,

(b) the sale by a person of live hares to a coursing club affiliated to the Irish Coursing Club,

(c) the sale to a licensed wildlife dealer by a person of any protected wild bird or protected wild animal lawfully killed F150[or captured] by him,

F150[(cc) the sale by a person of any live perching bird which is a close-ringed specimen within the meaning of section 31(4) of this Act, and to which that section applies,]

(d) the sale by any person, who has obtained the prior permission of the Minister so to do, of any lawfully killed F150[or captured] such wild bird or wild animal.

(4) A person who is the owner, manager or person otherwise in charge of any hotel, guest house, inn, restaurant, public eating house, registered club within the meaning of the Registration of Clubs Acts, 1904 to 1962, or any other premises in which meals are provided for reward, shall not purchase a protected wild bird or a protected wild animal otherwise than from a licensed wildlife dealer, unless such person is himself such a dealer.

(5) A person mentioned in subsection (4) of this section who is not a licensed wildlife dealer shall keep in such form as the Minister approves a record of all purchases of protected wild birds or protected wild animals made in relation to the premises so mentioned and of which he is the owner or manager or of which he is otherwise in charge, and records kept pursuant to this subsection shall be kept available for inspection at the said premises by an authorised person on demand at any reasonable time.

(6) An authorised person may inspect and, if he thinks fit, take copies of any entry in any record kept pursuant to subsection (5) of this section.

F151[(7) A person who contravenes subsection (1), (2), (4), F152[…] (12) or (13) of this section or who fails to comply with the requirements of subsection (5) of this section shall be guilty of an offence.]

F151[(8) In any proceedings for an offence under this section in which it is alleged that subsection (2) or (13) of this section was contravened, it shall be a defence for the defendant to prove that—

F153[(a) the wild bird, wild animal or any other part, product or derivative of such wild bird or wild animal had been lawfully acquired by the defendant before the 1st day of June, 1977, or that it or they had been lawfully acquired from a person who had lawfully acquired it or them,

(b) in case the alleged offence relates to a protected wild bird or a protected wild animal or to any other part, product or derivative of such a wild bird or wild animal that it or they had lawfully been killed, captured or acquired by the defendant or had been lawfully acquired from a person who had lawfully killed, captured or acquired it or them.]]

F154[(9) Subject to subsection (9A) of this section, nothing in this section shall make unlawful the possession consequent upon any other thing which is—

(a) done pursuant to and in accordance with a licence or permission granted under this Act, or

(b) permitted to be done by or under any statute other than this Act, or

(c) otherwise lawfully done,

of a protected wild bird or a protected wild animal or the eggs of a protected wild bird or any eggs or spawn of a protected wild animal.]

F150[(9A) Where possession of a protected wild bird or a protected wild animal results from the unintentional capture of the bird or animal and such possession is continuing, the person in apparent possession or control of the bird or animal shall, at the direction of the Minister, release or otherwise dispose of the bird or animal in such manner as the Minister thinks fit.]

(10) References in this section to a protected wild bird or a protected wild animal shall, except in relation to taxidermy, be construed as including references to the flesh F150[, or to any other part, product or derivative,] of such a bird or animal, and in relation to taxidermy the said references in this section shall be construed as including references to the skin, plumage or any other part of such a bird or animal.

F155[(11) F156[…]

(12) A licensed wildlife dealer shall not sell, keep for sale, purchase for resale or engage in taxidermy in respect of eggs taken from the wild of a protected wild bird.

(13) Subject to subsection (8) of this section and to section 22(5) of this Act, a licensed wildlife dealer shall not have in his possession eggs taken from the wild of a protected wild bird.]

F150[(14) The Minister may by regulations—

(a) in relation to wild birds—

(i) apply this section, either generally or by reference to one or more species, to wild birds, or

(ii) apply this section generally to species of wild birds subject to the exclusion of one or more such species,

and

(b) in relation to wild animals—

(i) apply this section, either generally or by reference to one or more species, to wild animals which are not protected wild animals, or

(ii) apply this section generally to species of wild animals which are not protected wild animals, subject to the exclusion of one or more such species.]