(1)  A person shall not take or use any animal that is the property of another person without –

(a) the consent of the owner or person in lawful possession thereof; or

(b) other lawful excuse.

(1A)  A person who contravenes a provision of subsection (1) is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to –

(a) a penalty not exceeding 5 penalty units or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months, for a first offence; or

(b) a penalty not exceeding 20 penalty units or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years, for a second or subsequent offence.

(2)  A person shall not –

(a) take or use any vehicle (other than a motor vehicle within the meaning of the Vehicle and Traffic Act 1999 ); or

(b) take or use any vessel within the meaning of the Marine and Safety Authority Act 1997 –

that is the property of any other person without the consent of the owner or person in lawful possession thereof.

(3)  Subject to subsections (4) and (5) , a person who contravenes a provision of subsection (2) is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to –

(a) a penalty not exceeding 10 penalty units or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, for a first offence; or

(b) imprisonment for a term of not less than 12 months or more than 2 years, for a second or subsequent offence.

(4)  Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (3) , where a person is convicted of an offence under subsection (2) by taking or using a wheelbarrow, hand cart, bicycle, or other like vehicle the penalty, whether for a first or subsequent offence, shall not exceed 3 penalty units or 3 months' imprisonment.

(5)  Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (3) , where a person is convicted of an offence under subsection (2) , having previously been convicted of an offence thereunder, the court before which he is convicted, if it thinks it reasonable so to do, having regard to all or any of the following matters, namely:

(a) The time that has elapsed since the commission of a previous offence;

(b) The character, antecedents, age, health, or mental condition of that person; and

(c) Any other special circumstances –

may impose on that person such penalty being less than the penalty prescribed by paragraph (b) of subsection (3) as the court may consider just and reasonable in all the circumstances of the case, but the court shall not in any such case impose a penalty of lesser severity than the fine prescribed in respect of a first offence against subsection (2) .

(6)  Nothing in this section affects the law of marine salvage.