Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949

28 Interpretation

(1) In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires, the following expressions have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them, that is to say :—

• " agricultural land " has the same meaning as in the Agriculture Act, 1947, or, in Scotland, the Agriculture (Scotland) Act, 1948 ;

• " container " includes sacks, boxes, this and other similar articles;

• " defendant ", in relation to Scotland, means defender;

• " food " includes any substance ordinarily used in the composition or preparation of food, the seeds of any cereal or vegetable, and any feeding stuffs for animals, but does not include growing crops ;

• " infestation " means the presence of rats, mice, insects or mites in numbers or under conditions which involve an immediate or potential risk of substantial loss of or damage to food, and "infested" shall be construed accordingly;,

• " land " includes land covered with water, and any building or part of a building;

• " manufacture " includes processing;

• " the Minister " means the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, or, in relation to Scotland, the Secretary of State;

• " owner " has the same meaning as in the Public Health Act, 1936, or, in Scotland, the Public Health (Scotland) Act, 1897.

(2) For the purposes of Part I of this Act, any land which is vested in or under the control of a local authority (whether or not being the local authority for the purposes of that Part) and is not occupied by any other person shall be deemed to be occupied by that authority.