Elephants' Preservation Act, 1879

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THE ELEPHANTS’ PRESERVATION ACT, 1879
 
 
CONTETNS
 
Preamble
 
1. 
 
Short title
 
Local extent 
 
Commencement 
 
2. 
 
[
Repeal
] 
 
3. 
 
Killing and capture of wild elephants prohibited
 
4
. 
 
Rights of Government with respect to certain 
elephants and tusks.
 
5.
 
License to kill and capture wild elephants
 
6. 
 
Power of Provincial Government to declare what are main roads and canals, and to make 
rules as to licenses
 
7. 
 
Penalty for contravening section 3
 
8. 
 
License to be produced and shown on
 
requisition of certain officers
 
9. 
 
Limitation of prosecution
 
10. 
 
Recovery of fees
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
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THE ELEPHANTS’ PRESERVATION ACT, 1879
 
 
1
ACT No. VI OF 1879
 
[22
nd 
March, 
1879] 
 
An Act for the preservation of wild elephants.
 
Preamble. 
WHEREAS it is expedient to provide for the preservation of wild elephants; 
it
 
is 
hereby enacted as follows:
–
 
 
Short title. 
This Act may be called the El
ephants’ Preservation Act, 1879
: 
 
Local extent. 
2
[
It may be extended to any local area by the Provincial Government by 
notification in the official Gazette.] 
 
Commencement. 
So far as regards the power to make declarations and rules, it shall come into 
force on the passing thereof. In other respects it sha
ll come into force on the first day of April, 1879. 
 
2. 
[
Repeal.
] 
Rep. 
by 
the Repealing 
and 
Amending Act, 1930 (VIII of 1930), 
s. 3 
and Sch. II. 
 
3. Killing and capture of wild elephants prohibited. 
No person shall kill, injure or capture, 
or attempt to kill, injure or capture, any wild elephant unless
–
 
 
(a) 
 
in defence of himself or some other person; 
 
(b) 
 
when such elephant is found injuring houses or cultivation, or upon, or in the 
immediate vicin
ity of, any main public road or any railway or canal; or 
 
(c) 
 
as permitted by a license granted under this Act. 
 
3
[
4
. 
Rights of Government with respect to certain elephants and tusks. 
Every wild elephant 
captured, and the tusks of every wild elephant kill
ed, by any person not licensed under this Act, shall 
be the property of Government.] 
 
5. License to kill and capture wild elephants. 
The Collector or Deputy Commissioner of any 
district may, subject to such rules as may for the time being be in force under
 
this Act, grant licenses 
to kill, or to capture, or to kill and capture, wild elephants in such district: 
 
Provided that no such license shall authorize any person to enter upon any land without the 
consent of the owner or occupier thereof. 
 
4
6. Power of 
Provincial Government to declare what are main roads and canals, and to 
make rules as 
to licenses.
 
The 
5
[Provincial Government] may from time to time , 
6
[
* * *
]
 
declare what 
shall be deemed to be main public roads and canals within the meaning of this Act,
 
and make rules 
consiste
nt with this Act for regulating
—
 
 
1
The Act has been repealed in its application to the Province of Punjab by Punjab Ordinance XXI of 1972, s. 42 with effect fro
m the 25th October, 1972 
which was temporarily enacted by the 
Punjab Act, VI of 1973 and on the expiry of the Ordinance as so enacted by P
unjab Act No. II
 
of 1974, s. 48. 
 
This Act has been repealed to the extent of Islamabad Capital Territory, 
See 
Ordinance 
No
. 
XXVII
 
of 1981 s. 4 and 3rd Sch. 
 
2
Subs. by 
Adaptation O
rder, 
1949, Sch., for the original
 
paragraph, as amended by Adaptation Order,
 
1937
 
a
nd Act No. 
XXXVIII 
of 1920
, s. 2 and Sch. I. 
 
3
Subs. by Act No. 
II
 
of 1883.
 
 
4
For rules under this section, 
see 
different local R. and O. 
 
5
Subs. by Adaptation Order, 
1937.
 
6
The words “subject to the control of the Governor Ge
neral in Council” rep. by Act No. XXXVIII
 
of l920, s. 2 and Sch. I. 
 
 
 
 
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(a) 
 
the grant and renewal of licenses under this Act; 
 
(b) 
 
the
 
fees (if any) in money, tusks or captured elephants to be charged on such 
grant and renewal; 
 
(c) 
 
the time during which such licenses shall continue in force; and
 
(d) 
 
the conditions (if any) on which they shall be granted. 
 
All such declarations and rul
es shall be published in the 
1
[official Gazette] and shall thereupon 
have the force of law. 
 
7. Penalty for contravening section 3. 
Whoever, in contravention of section 3, kills, injures 
or captures, or attempts to kill, injure or capture, any wild elephan
t, shall be punished with fine which 
may extend to five hundred rupees for each elephant concerned; 
 
and whoever breaks any condition contained in a license granted under this Act shall be 
punished with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees. 
 
Any pe
rson convicted of a second offence under this section shall be punished with 
imprisonment which may extend to six months, or with fine, or with both. 
 
When any person holding a license under this Act is convicted under this section, such license 
shall beco
me void and shall be delivered up to the convicting Magistrate. 
 
8. License to be produced and shown on requisition of certain officers. 
Any officer of 
Revenue or Police, or any Forest
-
officer, who may find any person killing, injuring or capturing, or 
att
empting to kill, injure or capture, any wild elephant, except in the cases mentioned in section 3, 
clauses (a) and (b), may require him to produce and show a license granted to him under this Act. 
 
Any person who, on such request, wilfully refuses or is un
able to produce and show such 
license as aforesaid, shall, in addition to any other punishment to which he may be liable under this 
Act, be punished with fine which may extend to one hundred rupees. 
 
9. 
Limitation of prosecution. 
Every prosecution under th
is Act shall be commenced within 
six months from the commission of the offence in respect of which it is instituted. 
 
10. Recovery of fees. 
The amount or value of any fee payable under any license granted under 
this Act may be recovered from the licensee a
s if it were an arrear of land
-
revenue. 
 
 
 
__________
 
 
 
Date; 16
-
09
-
2024
 
1
Subs. by Adaptation Order, 1937.
 
 
 
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