Import, keeping, breeding, purchase, release etc. of invasive alien species
3.—(1) A person who contravenes a provision of the Principal Regulation specified in Table 1 of Schedule 1 is guilty of an offence.
(2) A person who releases or allows to escape into the wild any specimen which is of a species of animal which—
(a)is not ordinarily resident in and is not a regular visitor to Great Britain in a wild state, or
(b)is included in Part 1 of Schedule 2,
is guilty of an offence.
(3) A person who plants or otherwise causes to grow in the wild any specimen which is of a species of plant which is included in Part 2 of Schedule 2 is guilty of an offence.
(4) A person who—
(a)sells, offers or exposes for sale, or has in his possession or transports for the purposes of sale, any specimen of a species included in Part 3 of Schedule 2, or
(b)publishes or causes to be published any advertisement likely to be understood as conveying that he buys or sells, or intends to buy or sell, any specimen of a species included in Part 3 of Schedule 2,
is guilty of an offence.
(5) A person may not by reason of the same act be convicted of both—
(a)an offence under paragraph (1); and
(b)an offence under paragraph (2), (3) or (4).
(6) The power to make an order under section 14ZA(3)(b) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (sale of invasive non-native species)(1) applies for the purposes of enabling the Secretary of State, or (in relation to Wales) the Welsh Ministers, to add to or remove from Part 3 of Schedule 2 any species of animal or plant as it applies for the purposes of enabling animals or plants to be prescribed for the purposes of section 14ZA of that Act.
1981 c. 69. Section 14ZA was inserted by section 50 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 (c. 16) and amended by section 25(3) of the Infrastructure Act 2015 (c. 7).