The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972

(1) This Act may be called the Wild Life (Protection)Act, 1972. 1[(2) It extends to the whole of India 2***.] (3) It shall come into force in a State or Union territory to which it extends3*** on such date as theCentral Government may, by notification, appoint, and different dates may be appointed for differentprovisions of this Act or for different States or Union territories.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-- 1[(1) "animal" includes amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles and their young, and alsoincludes, in the cases of birds and reptiles, their eggs;] (2) "animal article" means an article made from any captive animal or wild animal, other thanvermin, and includes an article or object in which the whole or any part of such animal 2[has beenused, and ivory imported into India and an article made therefrom]; 3* * * * * 4[(4) "Board" means a State Board for Wild Life constituted under sub-section (1) of section 6;] (5) “captive animal” means any animal, specified in Schedule I, Schedule II, Schedule III orSchedule IV, which is captured or kept or bred in captivity; 5* * * * * (7) "Chief Wild Life Warden" means the person appointed as such under clause (a) ofsub-section (1) of section 4; 6[(7A) "circus" means an establishment, whether stationary or mobile, where animals are kept orused wholly or mainly for the purpose of performing tricks or manoeuvres;] 7* * * * * 8[(9) "Collector" means the chief officer in charge of the revenue administration of a district orany other officer not below the rank of a Deputy Collector as may be appointed by the StateGovernment under section 18B in this behalf;] (10) "commencement of this Act", in relation to-- (a) a State, means commencement of this Act in that State, (b) any provision of this Act, means the commencement of that provision In the concernedState; 9[(11) "dealer" in relation to any captive animal, animal article, trophy, uncured trophy, meat orspecified plant, means a person, who carries on the business of buying or selling any such animal orarticle, and includes a person who undertakes business in any single transaction;] (12) "Director" means the person appointed as Director of Wild Life Preservation underclause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 3; 10[(12A) "Forest officer" means the Forest officer appointed under clause (2) of section 2 of theIndian Forest Act, 1927 (16 of 1927) or under any other Act for the time being in force in a State; (12B) "forest produce" shall have the same meaning as in sub-clause (b) of clause (4) of section 2of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 (16 of 1927);] 11* * * * * (14) "Government property" means any property referred to in section 3912[or section 17H]; (15) "habitat" includes land, water or vegetation which is the natural home of any wild animal; (16) "hunting", with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, includes,-- 13[(a) killing or poisoning of any wild animal or captive animal and every attempt to do so; (b) capturing, coursing, snaring, trapping, driving or baiting any wild or captive animal andevery attempt to do so;] (c) injuring or destroying or taking any part of the body of any such animal or, in the case ofwild birds or reptiles, damaging the eggs of such birds or reptiles, or disturbing the eggs or nestsof such birds or reptiles; (17) "land" includes canals, creeks and other water channels, reservoirs, rivers, streams and lakes,whether artificial or natural, 14[marshes and wetlands and also includes boulders and rocks]; (18) "licence" means a licence granted under this Act; 15[(18A) "livestock" means farm animals and includes buffaloes, bulls, bullocks, camels, cows,donkeys, goats, sheep, horses, mules, yaks, pigs, ducks, geese, poultry and their young but does notinclude any animal specified in Schedules I to V;] 16[(19) "manufacturer" means a person who manufactures articles from any animal or plantspecified in Schedules I to V and VI, as the case may be; (20) "meat" includes blood, bones, sinew, eggs, shell or carapace, fat and flesh with or withoutskin, whether raw or cooked, of any wild animal or captive animal, other than a vermin; (20A) "National Board" means the National Board for Wild Life constituted under section 5A;] (21) "National Park" means an area declared, whether under section 35 or section 38, or deemed,under sub-section (3) of section 66, to be declared, as a National Park; (22) "notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette; (23) "permit" means a permit granted under this Act or any rule made thereunder; (24) "person" includes a firm; 17[(24A) "protected area" means a National Park, a sanctuary, a conservation reserve or acommunity reserve notified under sections 18, 35, 36A and 36C of the Act;] (25) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act; 18[(25A) "recognised zoo" means a zoo recognised under section 38H; 19[(25B) "reserve forest" means the forest declared to be reserved by the State Government undersection 20 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 (16 of 1927), or declared as such under any other State Act; (26) "sanctuary" means an area declared as a sanctuary by notification under the provisions ofChapter IV of this Act and shall also include a deemed sanctuary under sub-section (4) of section 66;] 20[(27) "specified plant" means any plant specified in Schedule VI;] 21* * * * * (29) "State Government", in relation to a Union territory, means the Administrator of that Unionterritory appointed by the President under article 239 of the Constitution; 22[(30) "taxidermy", with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, means the curing,preparation or preservation or mounting of trophies;] 23[(30A) "territorial waters" shall have the same meaning as in section 3 of the Territorial Waters,Continental Shelf, Exclusive Economic Zone and other Maritime Zones Act, 1976 (80 of 1976);] (31) "trophy" means the whole or any part of any captive animal or wild animal, other thanvermin, which has been kept or preserved by any means, whether artificial or natural, andincludes-- (a) rugs, skins and specimens of such animal mounted in whole or in part through a processof taxidermy, and 24[(b) antler, bone, carapace, shell, horn, rhinoceros horn, hair, feather, nail, tooth, tusk, musk,eggs, nests and honeycomb;] (32) "uncured trophy" means the whole or any part of any captive animal or wild animal, otherthan vermin, which has not undergone a process of taxidermy, and includes a 25[freshly killed wildanimal, ambergris, musk and other animal products]; (33) "vehicle" means any conveyance used for movement on land, water or air and includesbuffalo, bull, bullock, camel, donkey, elephant, horse and mule; (34) "vermin" means any wild animal specified in Schedule V; (35) "weapon" includes ammunition, bows and arrows, explosives, firearms, hooks’ knives, netspoison, snares and traps and any instrument or apparatus capable of anaesthetizing, decoying,destroying, injuring or killing an animal; 26[(36) "wild animal" means any animal specified in Schedules I to IV and found wild in nature;] 27[(37) "wild life" includes any animal, aquatic or land vegetation which forms part of anyhabitat;] (38) "Wild Life Warden" means the person appointed as such under clause (b) of sub-section (1)of section 4; 28[(39) "zoo" means an establishment, whether stationary or mobile, where captive animals arekept for exhibition to the public 29[and includes a circus and rescue centres but does not include anestablishment] of a licensed dealer in captive animals.]

(1) The Central Government may, for thepurposes of this Act, appoint,-- (a) A Director of Wild Life Preservation; 1* * * * * (c) such other officers and employees as may be necessary. (2) In the performance of his duties and exercise of his powers by or under this Act, the Director shallbe subject to such general or special directions, as the Central Government may, from time to time, give. 2[(3) The officers and other employees appointed under this section shall be required to assist theDirector.]

(1) The State Government May, for thepurpose of this Act, appoint,-- (a) a Chief Wild Life Warden; (b) Wild Life Wardens; 1*** 2[(bb) Honorary Wild Life Wardens;] (c) such other officers and employees as may be necessary. (2) In the performance of his duties and exercise of his powers by or under this Act, the Chief WildLife Warden shall be subject to such general or special directions, as the State Government may fromtime to time, give. (3) 3[The Wild Life Warden, the Honorary Wild Life Warden] and other officers and employeesappointed under this section shall be subordinate to the Chief Wild Life Warden.

(1) The Director may, with the previous approval of the Central Government,by order in writing, delegate all or any of his powers and duties under this Act to any officer subordinateto him subject to such conditions, if any, as may be specified in the order. (2) The Chief Wild Life Warden may, with the previous approval of the State Government, by orderin writing, delegate all or any of his powers and duties under this Act, except those under clause (a) ofsub-section (1) of section 11, to any officer subordinate to him subject to such conditions, if any, as maybe specified in the order. (3) Subject to any general or special direction given or condition imposed by the Director or the ChiefWild Life Warden, any person, authorised by the Director or the Chief Wild Life Warden to exercise anypowers, may exercise those powers in the same manner and to the same effect as if they had beenconferred on that person directly by this Act and not by way of delegation.