The Tamil Nadu Cattle-Disease Act, 1866

For section 1 of the Tamil Nadu Cattle-disease Act, 1866 (Tamil Nadu Act II of 1866) (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act) and the marginal note thereto, the following section shall be substituted, namely:-- "1. Act to be brought into force.--

1. (a) The State Government or subject to their control, the Commissioner of Revenue Administration may, from time to time, by a notification in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette, bring this Act into force in any district or to any part of such district, or
2. (b) the Collector of a district, subject to the control of the State Government and the Commissioner of Revenue Administration, may, from time to time, by a notification in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette, bring this Act into force in that district or any part of that district, from such date and for such period as may be specified in the notification.".

In the principal Act, for the words " Magistrate of the district, or, in the City of Madras, the Commissioner of the Corporation " wherever they occur, the words, "Collector of the district, or, in the City of Madras or in the City of Madurai, the Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation concerned " shall be substituted.

Whenever, in any district or part of a district to which this Act has been extended as above provided, any animal is attacked by any contagious or infectious disease, it shall be the duty of the owner, or of the person in charge thereof, to give immediate notice to the keeper of the hospital-pound provided for the village or township in which the animal may at the time be.

On receiving notice as aforesaid, the keeper of the hospital-pound shall, as soon as possible, examine the animal and shall decide whether it is necessary to place it in the hospital-pound for treatment.

For section 18 of the principal Act and the marginal note thereto, the following section shall be substituted, namely :- "18. Power to make rules.--

1. (1) The State Government may make rules to carry out the purposes of this Act.
2. (2) All rules made under this Act shall be published in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette and, unless they are expressed to come into force on a particular day, shall come into force on the day on which they are so published.
3. (3) All notifications issued under this Act shall, unless they are expressed to come into force on a particular day, come into force on the day on which they are published.
4. (4) Every rule made or notification issued under this Act shall, as soon as possible after it is made or issued, be placed on the table of both Houses of the Legislature, and if, before the expiry of the session in which it is so placed or the next session, both Houses agree in making any modification in any such rule or notification or both Houses agree that the rule or notification should not be made or issued, the rule or notification shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be, so however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule or notification.
5. (5) A breach of any such rule shall render the party liable on conviction before a Magistrate, to a fine not exceeding rupees fifty and in default to simple imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month.".

Every keeper of a hospital-pound, or person thereto authorized by the Magistrate of the district, [or, in the City of Madras,] [the Commissioner of the Corporation], shall have power, within the range for which he is appointed, to enter upon and inspect any premises or place in which any animal or animals, which he suspects to be labouring under any contagious or infectious disease, may be found, and to examine and inspect whenever or wherever he may deem it necessary, any animal or animals which he suspects to be labouring under such disease, and to require the removal of such animal or animals to the hospital-pound for the range.

Every keeper of hospital-pound, or person thereto authorized by the Magistrate of the district, [or, in the City of Madras,] [the Commissioner of the Corporation,] shall have power, within his range, to cause to be cleansed and disinfected, in any manner which he may think proper, any premises in which any animal labouring under any contagious or infectious disease has been or may be, and to cause to be disinfected, and, if necessary destroyed, any fodder, manure or refuse-matter which he may deem likely to propagate the said disease.

From the time when any animal affected as aforesaid is taken charge of by the keeper of the hospital-pound, all expenses incurred on account of feeding and medical treatment for the said animal shall be borne by the cattle-pound fund established under Act III of 1867 unless the owner, or person in charge thereof, desires to supply the food and medicines himself:

Power to destroy animals The keeper of the hospital-pound, or other person thereto authorized by the Magistrate of the district, [or, in the City of Madras,] [the Commissioner of the Corporation,] shall be empowered to destroy any animal either before or after it has been impounded as aforesaid, whenever it shall appear to him to be necessary to prevent the spread of contagion or infection. When any animal shall have been so destroyed, or shall die whilst in charge of the keeper of the hospital-pound, it shall be the duty of the said keeper to have the carcass of the said animal buried at least six feet below the surface of the ground, and any cost incurred in so doing shall be met from the cattle-pound fund.

Owner to pay expenses Should an animal impounded as aforesaid recover from the disease under which it may have been labouring, the owner or person who was in charge thereof shall pay to the keeper of the hospital-pound, to be placed to the credit of the cattle-pound fund, the actual cost of the feeding and treatment of such animal. Should he fail to pay the expenses aforesaid, then the said animal shall be sold by auction, and the sum realised by its sale, after deducting the amount of the expenses, shall be paid over to the owner, or the person who was in charge:

Removal of animals No person having in his possession, or under his custody, any animal which has been in the same shed or stable, or in the same herd or flock, or in contact with any animal labouring under any contagious or infectious disease, shall remove such animal alive from his land or premises without the licence of the keeper of the hospital-pound for the range, or of some person authorized by the Magistrate of the district, [or, in the City of Madras,] [the Commissioner of the Corporation,] to grant such licence. Every such licence shall be in writing, and only permit the removal of such animal to some place where it can be conveniently kept apart from all other animals, until the hospital pound-keeper or other person authorized as aforesaid, is satisfied that there is no reasonable probability of such animal propagating the disease.

If any person who may be in charge of any animal at the time of its being attacked by a contagious or infectious disorder shall fail to give notice to the hospital pound-keeper of the village, as required in section 4, the said person shall be liable, on conviction before a Magistrate, to a fine not exceeding rupees five for every instance of such neglect, commutable, if not paid, to simple imprisonment for any period not exceeding ten days.

Any person who shall fail to comply with the directions of a hospital pound-keeper, or of a person duly authorized by the Magistrate of the district, [or, in the City of Madras,] [the Commissioner of the Corporation,] in that behalf, as to the impounding any diseased animal; or to the disinfecting any premises or place where any diseased animal may have been kept; or to the disinfecting or destroying any fodder, manure and refuse-matter which may be likely to propagate the disease; or who may remove, without a licence, any animal which has been in the same shed or stable, or in the same herd or flock, or in contact with any animal labouring under any contagious or infectious disease,- shall, on conviction before a Magistrate, be liable, for every such offence, to a fine of twenty rupees, commutable, if not paid, to simple imprisonment for any period not exceeding ten days.

In any district or part of a district in which this Act is in force, hospital pound-keepers, all police officers not below the rank of a sub-inspector and such other persons as the Magistrate of the district, or, in the City of Madras, the Commissioner of the Corporation, may specially empower, may seize and impound all animals suffering from contagious or infectious disease, and any person who shall forcibly oppose such seizure, or who shall forcibly rescue the animals after such seizure, shall be deemed to have committed an offence punishable under section 186 of the Indian Penal Code.

Any person whose animals shall have been seized as being diseased may prefer a complaint against the seizure, at any time within ten days from the date thereof, to any Magistrate. The complaint may be either verbal, in which case the substance of it shall be taken down in writing by the Magistrate, or written upon plain paper, and shall be preferred by the complainant in person, or by an agent personally acquainted with the circumstances. If, on examination of the complainant or his agent, the Magistrate shall see reason to believe the complaint to be well founded, he shall summon the party complained against, and shall proceed to make a summary inquiry into the case. If the seizure be adjudged illegal, the Magistrate shall award to the complainant such damages as he may deem to be a reasonable compensation for any loss or injury sustained from the unlawful seizure, together with all expenses incurred by the complainant in procuring the release of the animals; or, if the animals have not been released, the Magistrate, in addition to the award of damages, shall make an order for their release, and shall direct that the expenses leviable under this Act shall be paid by the party who made the seizure. The amount of all damages and expenses so awarded shall be recoverable according to the process prescribed in Act No.

Fines to be credited to the revenues of the State

Power to make by-laws It shall be lawful for the [State Government] by notice published in the [Official Gazette] to make and prescribe such by-laws as may from time to time seem necessary for the more effectually preventing the spreading of infectious or contagious diseases among animals; provided that such by-laws shall not be repugnant to the provisions of this or any other Act. A breach of any such by-laws shall render the party liable on conviction before a Magistrate, to a fine not exceeding rupees ten, commutable to simple imprisonment for fifteen days.