(1) An impounding authority must cause an impounded item to be offered for
sale if the item is not released before the deadline for release (subsection
(5)). The sale is to be by public auction or public tender.
(2) The item may
be disposed of otherwise than by sale if the impounding authority believes on
reasonable grounds that the item has no monetary value or that the proceeds of
sale would be unlikely to exceed the costs of sale.
(3) If an impounded item
offered for sale is not sold, the impounding authority may dispose of the item
otherwise than by sale.
(5) The
"deadline for release" for an impounded item is--
(a) in the case of an
impoundedanimal--7 days from the day on which notice was given to the owner
of the animal under section 20 or, if reasonable inquiries by the
impounding authority concerned have failed to reveal the name and address of
the owner, 7 days from the day on which those inquiries were completed, or
(b) in the case of an impounded article--28 days from the day on which notice
was given to the owner of the item under section 20 or, if reasonable
inquiries have failed to reveal the name and address of the owner, 28 days
from the day on which those inquiries were completed or the date on which the
article was impounded (whichever is the later).
(6) This section does not
apply to a motor vehicle destroyed or otherwise disposed of under another
provision of this Act.
