1 exemptions and special procedures cites secretariat

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Exemptions and special procedures

CITES Secretariat

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Overview

• The paragraphs of Article VII of the Convention list a number of cases for which the provisions of Articles III, IV and V of the Convention do not apply

• This can result in exemptions to the normal procedures and where no CITES documentation is required, or in special procedures, where:

• Trade is regulated, but the specimens are subject to the provisions of an Appendix different to the one in which it is listed, or

• Other documents than the normal CITES documentation are required

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Overview

• These procedures relate to specimens that are:

– In transit or transhipment

– Pre-Convention

– Personal or household effects

– Captive-bred or artificially propagated

– Exchanged between registered scientific institutions

– Traveling exhibitions

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Transit / Transhipment

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• Transit and transhipment refers only to specimens:

– That remain in Customs control

– That are in the process of shipment to a named consignee through or in the territory of a third Party

– For which interruption in their movement is only due to arrangements necessitated by the requirements of transport

• In these cases the provisions of Article III, IV or V do not apply

(Article VII, Paragraph 1)

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• However, in the past this exemption was too frequently used to move illegal specimens, or to temporarily store these in customs zones

• Therefore, Resolution Conf. 9.7 (Rev. CoP15) recommends that, if their national legislation allows, Parties should:

– Verify the presence of valid CITES documents

– Seize/confiscate specimens without valid documentation

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• Resolution Conf. 9.7 (Rev. CoP15) also recommends that:

- If confiscation is not possible, shipment details should be sent to the country of final destination, other countries of transhipment and to the CITES Secretariat

- These procedures should also apply if the country of origin and/or country of final destination are non-Parties

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Pre-Convention Specimens

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• The provisions of Articles III, IV and V do not apply to traded specimens if they were acquired before the Convention applied to them (Article VII, Paragraph 2)

• If the Management Authority issatisfied that this is the case, it can issue a certificate to that effect (a pre-Convention certificate)

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• Definition:

– Generally specimens that were acquired before the date on which the specimens concerned was first included in the Appendices

• Characteristics:

– The specimens can be used for commercial purposes if the Management Authority agrees to their pre-Convention status

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• With the adoption of Resolution Conf. 13.6 (Rev. CoP16) the Conference of the Parties has recommended a uniform interpretation of ‘pre-Convention specimens’

• Resolution Conf. 13.6 (Rev. CoP16) refers to two dates:

– the date from which the Convention applied to it (the so-called date of reference), and

– the date of acquisition of a specimen

• These dates need to be determined before deciding on whether a specimen is pre-Convention or not

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• The date from which the Convention applied to the specimen is the date on which the species was first included in the Appendices

• This definition is very straightforward and guarantees a uniform interpretation by all Parties, irrespective of their date of accession to the Convention or the date of the withdrawal of a Reservation

• The dates when species were included in the Appendices can be found in the Annotated CITES Appendices and Reservations published by the Secretariat or on the CITES web site (www.cites.org)

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• The date of acquisition is the date on which the specimen was known to be either

– removed from the wild, or

– born in captivity or artificially propagated in a controlled environment; or

• If such date is unknown or cannot be proved, any subsequent and provable date on which it was first possessed by a person

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• Is the specimen pre-Convention?

If it was acquired before the Convention applied to it – Yes

It is up to the Management Authority to decide whether to issue a pre-Convention certificate

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• A pre-Convention Certificate must indicate:

– the precise date of acquisition, OR

– a statement that the specimens were acquired before a specific date

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• Parties should advise the holder of a pre-Convention certificate to check with potential importers or with the Management Authority of the intended country of destination whether the latter will accept the certificate for import

• Parties should take any necessary measures in order to prevent excessive acquisition of specimens of a species between the date at which the Conference of the Parties approves the inclusion of that species in Appendix I and the date at which the inclusion takes effect

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Important

Pre-Convention specimens of wild origin of species included in Appendix I can be traded for primarily commercial purposes

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Therefore, abuse of the pre-Convention declaration can be an important source

of fraud

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Personal & Household Effects

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Definition (Resolution Conf. 13.7 Rev. CoP16) :

• Personal effects means specimens that are:

a) Personally owned or possessed for non-commercial purposes;

b) Legally acquired; and

c) At the time of import, export or re-export either:

• Worn or carried or included in personal baggage; or

• Part of a household move

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• Personal effect exemptions do not apply to live specimens

• These still require permits, either in accordance with the provisions of Articles III, IV and V or with Resolution Conf. 10.20 (Frequent cross-border movements of personally owned live animals)

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• Article VII, paragraph 3, states that the provisions of Articles III, IV and V shall not apply to specimens that are personal or household effects

• Note that this is the only true exemption where no CITES documentation is required for specimens of species included in the Appendices

BUT……

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• The paragraph then continues with the description of a number of cases in which the exemption does NOT apply

• These all relate to a person returning to his State of usual residence with a CITES specimen for personal use

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Personal Effects

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Personal Effects

• The exemption does NOT apply for Appendix-I specimens when a person obtains a specimen in a country other than his/her country of usual residence, and returns home with it

• This is considered to be an import

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• The exemption does NOT apply to Appendix-II specimens when:

– The specimen was acquired in the State where it was removed from the wild and which is not the person’s State of usual residence, and

– The specimen is being imported into the owner’s State of usual residence, and

– The State where removal from the wild occurred requires the issuance of an export permit before export

• In these cases an export permit is required

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Personal Effects

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Personal Effects

• Special exemptions per person(Resolution Conf. 13.7 Rev. CoP16)

– Caviar: maximum 125 grams, container has to be labelled in accordance with Resolution Conf. 12.7 (Rev. CoP16)

– Rainsticks of Cactaceae: up to three

– Specimens of crocodilian species: up to four

– Queen conch (Strombus gigas) shells: up to three

– Giant clams (Tridacnidae) : three dead specimens (or 3 x 2 matching halves), no more than 3 kg

– Seahorses (Hippocampus spp.): four specimens

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Personal Effects

• Parties that do not accept the afore-mentioned specified exemptions should inform the Secretariat

• The Secretariat will inform all Parties through a Notification, and will include the information on its web site

• In addition, a number of countries (including all the member countries of the EU) have taken stricter domestic measures, and do not allow exemptions for personal effects (except for the afore-mentioned ones, or when a Party has informed them that they do not require permits for souvenir specimens)

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• For Appendix III specimens, all personal or household effects are exempt from the provisions of the Convention

• No CITES documentation is required

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Personal Effects

Walrus ivory (Appendix III)Walrus ivory (Appendix III)

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Tourist Souvenirs

Resolution Conf. 13.7 (Rev. CoP16)

• The term ‘tourist souvenir specimen’ applies only to personal and household effects acquired outside a person’s State of usual residence

• The term ‘tourist souvenir specimen’ does not apply to live specimens

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Tourist Souvenirs


• Tourist souvenir specimens of species listed in Appendix I should not be exempted from the usual CITES provisions for Appendix-I species

• Sale of tourist souvenirs of Appendix-I species in places of international departure/arrival that are beyond Customs controls should be prohibited

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Captive-breeding&

Artificial propagation

Note: The definition of ‘artificially propagated’ is dealt with in a separate presentation on ‘CITES and Plants’

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Captive-breeding/Artificial propagation

• Article VII contains two special provisions which must be applied separately:

– Paragraph 4:

• Appendix-I artificially propagated plant and captive-bred animal specimens produced for commercial purposes can be traded under the provisions of Article IV (‘deemed to be a species included in Appendix II’)

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Captive-breeding/Artificial propagation

– Paragraph 5:

• If a Management Authority is satisfied that a specimen of an Appendix-II or –III species has been captive-bred or artificially propagated for any purpose, or an Appendix-I specimen has been bred or propagated for non-commercial purposes, a certificate stating this can be accepted

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Definition of ‘Bred in Captivity’

• The definition of ‘bred in captivity’ [in Resolution Conf. 10.16 (Rev.)] applies to all animal species in all three Appendices, whether they are bred for commercial or for non-commercial purposes

A number of criteria must ALL be met in order for a specimen to qualify as ‘bred in captivity’

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• These criteria are:

– Specimens must have been born or produced in a controlled environment

– The parents mated (or gametes were transferred) in a controlled environment

– The breeding stock was established and is maintained in accordance with Resolution Conf. 10.16 (Rev.)

– Production of a second generation or subsequent generations, or managed in a manner that has been demonstrated to be capable of reliably producing second-generation offspring in a controlled environment

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• A ’controlled environment’ is an environment manipulated to produce specific animal species, with boundaries to prevent animals, eggs or gametes from leaving the controlled environment

• General characteristics of a controlled environment may include:

• Artificial housing / protection from predators

• Artificially supplied food / waste removal

• Health care

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• The ‘breeding stock’ is the ensemble of animals in an operation that are used for reproduction

• Breeding stock must have been established:

– in a manner not detrimental to the survival of the species in the wild

– in accordance with the provisions of CITES and relevant national laws

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• Breeding stock must be maintained without the introduction of wild specimens, except for occasional addition of animals, eggs or gametes in a manner not detrimental to the survival of species in the wild, as advised by the Scientific Authority:

– To prevent or alleviate deleterious inbreeding

– To dispose of confiscated animals in accordance with Resolution Conf. 10.7 (Rev. CoP-15)

– For exceptional use as breeding stock

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• The breeding stock has produced at least F2 offspring in a controlled environment, or

• is managed in a manner demonstrated to be capable of reliably producing F2 offspring in a controlled environment

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• First-generation offspring (F1) are specimens produced in a controlled environment with at least one parent taken from the wild or conceived in the wild

• Second or subsequent generation offspring (F2, F3, F4 etc.) are specimens produced in a controlled environment by specimens also produced in a controlled environment

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W WW W

F1

F2

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XXF1

F1

W

W X

F1

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Marking of Captive-bred Specimens

• Resolution Conf. 10.16 (Rev.) further recommends that trade in specimens bred in captivity should be permitted only if:

– The specimen is marked in accordance with Resolutions on marking, and if

– The type and number of the mark are indicated on the permit/certificate

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• The following conditions must be met for export:

– The operation must produce specimens in accordance with Resolution Conf. 10.16 (Rev.)

– The Management Authority must have registered the operation with the Secretariat

– The specimens must be marked in accordance with the appropriate resolution

– The ‘mark-numbers’ must be included on the export permit

– The letter ”D" must be indicated in the "source" box on the export permit

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Export of Appendix-I Captive-Bredfor Commercial Purposes

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Export of Appendix-I Captive-Bredfor Commercial Purposes

• Captive bred specimens of Appendix-I species can only be traded for commercial purposes when they originate in registered captive-breeding operations

• The requirements for registration of such operations are included in Resolution Conf. 12.10 (Rev. CoP15)

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Ara araurana; Photo Peter DollingerAra araurana; Photo Peter Dollinger

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Import of Appendix-I Captive-Bredfor Commercial Purposes

• Parties shall restrict their imports of captive-bred specimens for commercial purposes to those produced by operations registered with the Secretariat

• Comparable documentation from non-Parties be only accepted after consultation with the Secretariat


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Appendix-I Species in Registered Commercial Captive Breeding Operations

• Reptiles:– Alligator sinensis (1/2)

– Crocodylus acutus (2/3)

– Crocodylus moreletii (1/3)

– Crocodylus niloticus (1/1)

– Crocodylus porosus (4/18)

– Crocodylus rhombifer (1/1)

– Crocodylus siamensis (3/27)

• Mammals:– Acinonyx jubatus (1/1)

• Fish:– Scleropages formosus (3/94)

– Pangasianodon gigas (1/1)

• Birds:– Cacatua haematuropygia (1/1)

– Cacatua moluccensis (1/2)

– Caloenas nicobarica (1/1)

– Eos histrio (1/1)

– Falco jugger (1/1)

– Falco plegrinoides (1/1)

– Falco peregrinus (8/24)

– F. p. anatum (1/1)

– F. p. pealei (2/2)

– Falco rusticolus (6/23)

– Guarouba guarouba (2/2)

– Psephotus dissimilis (1/1)

– Tragopan caboti (1/1)

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(countries / operations)(countries / operations)

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Captive-Bred Specimens

• Only the declaration of a specimen as "bred in captivity" can justify its export from a country where the species does not occur in the wild, or it is re-exported when the species does not occur in the wild in the declared country of origin

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Captive-Bred Specimens

• It is essential that the definition and provisions for trade in captive-bred specimens be respected by all CITES Authorities in all Parties

• False declaration of the source“bred in captivity” is one of the most common and persistent types of CITES fraud

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Scientific Exchange

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Scientific Exchange

• Paragraph 6 of Article VII provides for the possibility to exempt the donation or exchange of certain types of scientific material from the provisions of Article III, IV or V if such specimens are being transferred between scientists or scientific institutions registered by a Management Authority of their State

• This applies only to herbarium specimens, live plant material, and preserved, dried or embedded museum specimens

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Scientific Exchange

• The conditions that apply are specified in Resolution Conf. 11.15 (Rev. CoP12)

– The Management Authority of the State concerned should, upon advice of the Scientific Authority, register the scientific institution with the Secretariat, and is given a registration number

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Scientific Exchange

• The container in which the specimens are shipped should carry a label indicating:

– the type of specimens,

– the name and address of the exporting institution, and

– the codes of the exporting and importing institution

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Scientific Exchange

• Individual scientists who keep private collections should affiliate with registered scientific institutions

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Travelling Exhibitions

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Travelling exhibitions

• Paragraph 7 of Article VII states that a Management Authority may waive the requirements of Articles III, IV or V and allow the movement of specimens in a travelling zoo, circus, menagerie, plant exhibition or other travelling exhibition provided that three conditions are met:

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1. Full details are registered with that Management Authority;

2. The specimens are either pre-Convention or captive-bred/artificially propagated; and

3. Live specimens are transportedin a manner that minimizes injury etc.

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• Already at the 8th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (Kyoto, 1992) it was noted that the implementation of this paragraph poses technical problems and was a serious source of fraud

• The Parties therefore agreed to use a system of special travelling–exhibition certificates with a validity of three years and suited for multiple use for pre-Convention or captive-bred specimens

Resolution Conf. 12.3 (Rev. CoP16), section VI

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• To avoid any conflict with the provisions of Resolution Conf. 13.6 (Rev. CoP16) (formerly Resolution Conf. 5.11), the travelling exhibition certificates should only be issued for specimens acquired before:

– 1 July 1975 or

– the date on which the species was first included in any of the Appendices (this information can be obtained in the Annotated CITES Appendices and reservations CD-ROM or from the CITES website)

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• There are a number of other conditions, of which the most important is that the specimens must be marked or otherwise easily identifiable

Microchip readerMicrochip reader

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Summary

• Special procedures relate to specimens that are:

– In transit or transhipment

– Pre-Convention

– Personal or household effects

– Captive-bred or artificially propagated

– Exchanged between registered scientific institutions

– Traveling exhibitions

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CITES SecretariatGeneva

1 exemptions and special procedures cites secretariat

Documents

preconvention certificate

preconvention status

convention applie

traded specimens

illegal specimens

secretariat slide

countries of transhipment

special procedures