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Wildlife Act 1953

General provisions

58: Homing pigeons

You could also call this:

"Rules to protect other people's homing pigeons"

If you hurt or kill someone else's homing pigeon on purpose, you can get in trouble with the law. You can also get in trouble if you disturb or tamper with a cage that is carrying homing pigeons without a good reason. If you do something wrong to someone else's homing pigeon, you might have to pay the owner for the pigeon's value. You will only get in trouble if the owner of the pigeon is registered with the secretary of the New Zealand Homing Pigeon Federation, and if you are found guilty you may have to pay a fine as set out in section 67F(1).

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM278121.

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Crime and justice > Criminal lawEnvironment and resources > Conservation
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Part 5General provisions

58Homing pigeons

  1. Every person commits an offence against this Act and is liable on conviction to the penalty set out in section 67F(1) who—

  2. intentionally shoots at, kills, disables, or otherwise injures, or ensnares, or detains any homing pigeon belonging to any other person; or
    1. without lawful authority disturbs, opens, or in any way tampers with any cage or other receptacle while that cage or receptacle is being used for the carriage of homing pigeons.

      1. Every person who does anything mentioned in subsection (1) shall be liable to pay to the owner of the pigeon the value thereof, and the court before which any prosecution under this section takes place may, in addition to any fine imposed, direct payment by the defendant to the owner of that value or any part thereof. Any amount so directed to be paid to the owner may be recovered from the defendant in the same manner as any fine and shall, when recovered, be paid to the owner.

      2. No person shall be liable to a fine or other payment under this section unless the owner of the pigeon has been registered as owner thereof with the secretary of the New Zealand Homing Pigeon Federation.

      Compare
      • 1921–22 No 57 s 37
      Notes
      • Section 58(1): replaced, on , by section 10(1) of the Wildlife Amendment Act 1959 (1959 No 49).
      • Section 58(1): amended, on , by section 8 of the Wildlife (Penalties and Related Matters) Amendment Act 2000 (2000 No 43).
      • Section 58(3): amended, on , by section 10(2) of the Wildlife Amendment Act 1959 (1959 No 49).