Power of seizure for purposes of investigation etc.
26.—(1) An enforcement officer exercising the powers conferred by this Part may seize anything where the enforcement officer has reasonable grounds for believing that—
(a)seizure is necessary for the purpose of determining whether an offence under this Order is being or has been committed;
(b)it is a specimen which has been imported or is being kept in contravention of the Principal Regulation;
(c)seizure is necessary for the conservation of evidence; or
(d)seizure is necessarily incidental to seizure of a thing pursuant to sub-paragraph (a), (b) or (c).
(2) If, in the opinion of the enforcement officer, it is not for the time being practicable for the enforcement officer to seize and remove any item from premises, the enforcement officer may require any person on the premises to secure that the item is not removed or otherwise interfered with until such time as the enforcement officer may seize and remove it.
(3) Where—
(a)any item which an enforcement officer wishes to seize is in a container, and
(b)the enforcement officer reasonably considers that it would facilitate the seizure of the item if it remained in the container for that purpose,
any power to seize the item conferred by this article includes power to seize the container.
(4) The enforcement officer must make reasonable efforts to give a written receipt for anything that is seized to each of the following persons—
(a)in the case of an item seized from a person, the person from whom the item was seized;
(b)in the case of an item seized from a vehicle, any person who appears to the enforcement officer to be the owner of the vehicle, or otherwise in charge of the vehicle;
(c)in the case of an item seized from premises, any person who appears to the enforcement officer to be the occupier of the premises, or otherwise in charge of the premises;
(d)in any other case, or where the enforcement officer believes that the item may belong to any person not falling within sub-paragraph (a) to (c), to the person to whom the enforcement officer believes the item belongs.
(5) Where an item is seized from a vehicle or premises and it is not reasonably practicable to give written notice to the person referred to in paragraph (4), the officer must leave a copy of the receipt in a prominent place in the vehicle or on the premises.
(6) Any relevant organism seized by an enforcement officer must, unless the enforcement officer is satisfied that it is not a specimen, be held and transported in contained holding.
(7) Any such relevant organism—
(a)may be transferred—
(i)to another enforcement officer; or
(ii)to an establishment or facility which is authorised to keep it by a permit or licence (as the case may be); or
(b)where the enforcement officer is satisfied it is a specimen, may be humanely dispatched (in the case of animals) or destroyed (in the case of plants, fungi or micro-organisms) as the enforcement officer sees fit.