The Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985

General interpretation N.I.

2.—(1) The [1954 c. 33 (N.I.)] Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 shall apply to Article 1 and the following provisions of this Order as it applies to a Measure of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

(2) In this Order—

• “ammunition” has the same meaning as in the Firearms (Northern Ireland) Order[F1 2004];

• “Committee for Nature Conservation” means the Committee established under Article 5 of the Nature Conservation and Amenity Lands (Northern Ireland) Order 1985;

• “deer”, except where otherwise provided, means deer of any species and their hybrids, and includes those on enclosed land where deer not in the wild state are usually kept;

• “the Department” means the Department of the Environment;

• “destroy”, in relation to an egg, includes doing anything to the egg which is calculated to prevent it from hatching;

• “firearm” has the same meaning as in the Firearms (Northern Ireland) Order[F1 2004];

• “game” means any hare or game-bird and includes deer;

• “game-bird” means any pheasant, partridge (including chukar partridge and red-legged partridge), woodcock, snipe or red grouse;

• [F2 “inland waters” has the meaning given in Article 2(2) of the Water and Sewerage Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006;]

• “pick”, in relation to a plant, means gather or pluck any part of the plant without uprooting it;

• “poultry” means domestic fowls, turkeys, geese, ducks, guinea-fowls, pigeons and quails;

• “sale” includes barter and exchange, and any other transaction by which anything is disposed of for value;

• “uproot”, in relation to a plant, means dig up or otherwise remove the plant with its roots from the land on which it is growing;

• “vehicle” includes any aircraft, hovercraft and boat;

• “veterinary practitioner” means a person who is for the time being registered in the supplementary veterinary register;

• “veterinary surgeon” means a person who is for the time being registered in the register of veterinary surgeons;

• “wild animal” means, subject to paragraph (3), any animal (other than a bird) which is or (before it was killed or taken) was living wild;

• “wild bird” means, subject to paragraph (4), any bird of a [F3 species] which is ordinarily resident in or is a visitor to [F4 the United Kingdom or] [F3 the European territory of any Member State] in a wild state but does not include poultry [F5 or any game bird];

• “wild plant” means any plant [F6 (including fungi)] which is or (before it was picked, removed, uprooted or destroyed) was growing wild and is of a kind which ordinarily grows in Northern Ireland in a wild state.

(3) F7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(4) In Articles 6 and 16 and, in so far as they have effect in relation to those Articles, in Articles 17 and 18 and Part IV, any reference to a wild bird includes a reference to a game-bird.

(5) In this Order any reference to any part of Northern Ireland includes, unless the context otherwise requires, a reference to the territorial waters adjacent to that part.

(6) Any reference in this Order to an animal of any kind includes, unless the context otherwise requires, a reference to an egg, larva, pupa, or other immature stage of an animal of the kind.

(7) Nothing in this Order shall make unlawful anything done under the [1981 NI 22] Diseases of Animals (Northern Ireland) Order 1981.

F1 2004 NI 3

F2 Art. 2(2): definition of "inland waters" inserted (17.8.2011) by Wildlife and Natural Environment Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 (c. 15), ss. 39(1), 40(1), Sch. 2 para. 5(2); S.R. 2011/285, art. 2, Sch.

F3 SR 2004/435

F4 Words in art. 2(2) inserted (31.12.2020) by The Conservation (Natural Habitats, etc.) (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/582), regs. 1(1), 2; 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F5 Art. 2(2): words in definition of "wild bird" added (17.8.2011) by Wildlife and Natural Environment Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 (c. 15), ss. 39(1), 40(1), Sch. 2 para. 5(3); S.R. 2011/285, art. 2, Sch.

F6 Art. 2(2): words in definition of "wild plant" inserted (17.8.2011) by Wildlife and Natural Environment Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 (c. 15), ss. 12(3), 40(1); S.R. 2011/285, art. 2, Sch.

F7 Art. 2(3) repealed (17.8.2011) by Wildlife and Natural Environment Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 (c. 15), ss. 39, 40(1), Sch. 2 para. 5(4), Sch. 3 Pt. 1; S.R. 2011/285, art. 2, Sch.