Protected animals (unless excluded) to be property of the Crown
2.18 Protected animals (unless excluded) to be property of the Crown
In this section—
excluded protected animal means—
a protected animal that is, at the time of birth, in the lawful possession of any person other than the Crown, or
a protected animal imported into New South Wales, or
a protected animal that was, before the commencement of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 on 1 January 1975, lawfully taken or in the lawful possession of any person other than the Crown and that had not been liberated before 1 January 1975, or
a protected animal of a class prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this definition.
protected animal includes an animal of (or part of) a threatened species or threatened ecological community.
A protected animal (other than an excluded protected animal) is, until lawfully captured or killed, deemed to be the property of the Crown.
A protected animal is, when liberated in New South Wales, deemed to be the property of the Crown.
A protected animal that is deemed by this section to be the property of the Crown does not cease to be the property of the Crown merely because a person other than the Crown—
takes possession of it because it is incapable of fending for itself in its natural habitat, or
takes or obtains it under and in accordance with a biodiversity conservation licence that declares that any animal so taken or obtained remains the property of the Crown.
The progeny of any protected animal that was born at a time when the protected animal was in the possession of a person in the circumstances referred to in subsection (4) is, at the time of birth, deemed to be in the lawful possession of the Crown instead of that person.
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