Cites
What is CITES?
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of the species, and is sustainable.
What are the CITES Appendices?
The Appendices are lists of the species that are protected by the CITES Convention. These species are subject to varying levels of trade restrictions based on the threat posed by international trade.
Appendix Vs Annex
The EU and UK, rather than simply using the appendix infrastructure offered by CITES has decided to work to their own standards. When considering CITES animals within the EU and UK you will work according to the rules of Annex A,B & C which replace Appendix I,II & III.
For the most part they remain in tune with one another but one area where there are differences is surrounding the European Tortoise species (Testudo graeca, hermanni and marginata). The rest of the world, as instructed by CITES considers these to be Appendix II animals. Europe however, because they were native species, decided to place them in Annex A. The result is that they require an Article 10 (A10) Certificate and microchip as other Appendix I species do.
The UK does not require paperwork for all Annex animals, although there are examples of European member states that require registration regardless of the Annex on which they appear A, B or C. In the UK A10 paperwork is only mandatory for Annex A animals in a permanent commercial setting and either being used for sale or public display.
No paperwork for an Appendix I (Annex A) animal, that’s illegal though, right?…
It is important to note that not having an A10 when just keeping the animal (and not being used for commercial purposes) is not in itself illegal. An example of this would be the thousands of European Tortoises that reside in the UK that have been family pets for decades and pre-date CITES inception in 1973. However, the possession of an A10 prevents the owner from having to prove legality through other means such as an original sales receipt or photographs of the animal from decades ago, etc. An A10 can prevent headaches in that regard. As a reptile selling businesses, by default the animals you work with will either be livestock for sale or breeding stock and therefore default into a commercial setting and as such require Article 10’s for all Appendix I (Annex A) animals.
Appendix I (Annex A)
This list of species is the most strictly regulated and contains species that are deemed to be threatened with extinction in their natural range as a direct result of international trade. Trade in wild specimens is strictly prohibited except under exceptional circumstances. Captive-bred animals will have an A10 that allows the owner to have the specimen if intended for commercial purposes such as for sale, breeding stock kept for producing offspring that is to be sold or on display for commercial purposes.
Appendix II (Annex B)
This list of species may not necessarily be threatened with extinction but trade in these species needs to be monitored and controlled to avoid over-exploitation. Trade in this species is allowed, but international shippers of these species will require CITES Export Permits to be able to send the animals abroad. In the UK and European Union there is also a need for a CITES Import Permit to be issued from the APHA or its equivalents. This will involve the shipper sending their export permit to the UK buyer so that it can be sent to the APHA for the import permit to hopefully be granted. Only when there is both an export and import permit can the animals travel to the UK. Europe and UK are relatively unique in requiring an import permit as well as the export one. By issuing an export permit a country is required to undertake a non-detriment finding to demonstrate that the trade will not be detrimental to the wild population status. Many countries accept the non-detriment finding of the exporting nation and do not question further. In the UK and EU the import permit issuer (APHA in the UK) also conducts its own non-detriment finding or undertakes a scrutiny of the one generated by the exporting nation. This extends the timeframe from exports and can cause delays. This can also make exporters reticent at times to work with UK and EU countries operating in this manner, when so many other countries only require the export permits such as the United States, Canada and Japan.
The paperwork, issued once both import and export permits are agreed, are travel documents only and can be discarded once in the destination country, but it is advisable to retain for any future referencing – in the world of CITES it’s not possible to have too much supporting and historical documentation. Should the animals be required to travel internationally once more, the process must begin again.
Appendix III (Annex C)
A country may seek to protect species that occur specifically within their borders. This usually (but not always) occurs when animals have an exclusive natural range limited to that one country. A good example would be certain Australian species such as the various species and subspecies of Blue Tongue Skink (Tiliqua sp) that are now Appendix III animals (whilst notably the Indonesian forms that are common in the trade remain absent from any CITES Appendix). Use of Appendix III has been rare until recently but has been used on a number of occasions in the past few years. Animals sold nationally require no action or certification.
To take the Australian species of Blue Tongue Skink mentioned above as an example if the animals are to be shipped internationally a declaration from the APHA would be required to certify that their country of origin is the UK and not Australia. This system still has a few kinks in it and has not fully been resolved with the APHA seemingly almost going to the lengths of a non-detriment finding and involving the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). REPTA are working with the authorities on these matters but until this system is fine-tuned it might be better to avoid internation trade of Appendix III animals or, at least, build-in anticipated delays to the licensing period.
Annex D
In addition to the three appendices of CITES, Annex D is referred to as the monitoring list. This may include species that could be included on other appendices and therefore there is a requirement to monitor their movements across the globe.
An import notification to the APHA is required when importing species listed on Annex D. Without this notification and subsequent acknowledgement, the species cannot be shipped. Species lists for Annex D can be found on the Species + website speciesplus.net
The Appendices and the species on each CITES Appendices I, II and III valid from 14.02.2021
Specimen Specific Vs Transaction Certificate Article 10 Paperwork (what’s the difference?)
Specimen specific Article 10’s are clearly marked. They do not require the seller to contact the APHA or change any details on the paperwork. The paperwork is specific to the specimen. You must ensure you receive the original A10 when you purchase the animal. This must be passed on to the new owner upon sale. Specimen specific paperwork is most commonly seen in Tortoise species, transaction certificates would be seen in most other instances.
A transaction certificate requires a business to send in a copy of A10’s received from the supplier and have them updated into the businesses name before the animals can be offered for sale. The animals must not be on public display in store or offered for sale via website and advertising platforms until the paperwork has been updated. Each transaction of the animal into different keepers’ care will require them to contact the APHA to update the Article 10’s details and pay a licensing fee for doing so.
The differentiation between the two types of A10 is based on how securely the CITES team and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) believe there to be no question about captive origin. Where there are multiple generations of a species (shown with paperwork trails) a specimen-specific certificate may be provided. This is the case with a number of Annex A captive bred tortoises emanating from a particular wholesaler in the UK with multiple generations of paperwork and proof. Smaller species that cannot be chipped may be refused specimen specific paperwork as the APHA do not accept Photo-ID and require the chipping process (for example, Kaiser Newts).
Where this may be a novel application for newly acquired specimens or a first generation of captive breeding (and an application for the babies that have been produced) a transaction certificate is more likely to be provided.
When advertising an animal with an Article 10, regardless of type the certificate number must be displayed with the advert and shown on price tag information in store. Wholesalers are exempt from this rule.
Because there is no work to be done with a specimen specific paperwork any following advice will centre on the updating of and working with transaction certificates.
Brexit
One aspect of Brexit that has complicated issues around CITES animals is that the UK is no longer part of the EU. CITES legislation Reg.338/97 allowed free movement of species throughout Europe without re-applying for paperwork, because the UK has left the EU this no longer applies. Reptile shows in Germany (Hamm) and the Netherlands (Houten) had previously been a rich vein of livestock for the UK reptile industry. But now, if an animal is listed on any CITES appendices, import and export documents will be required to enter the country and Customs officials must wet stamp the certificates for the animals to be legally imported. This affects even species common in the industry such as Royal Pythons (Python regius) as they along with all other Boas and Pythons are Appendix II (with a few being Appendix I).
There are also animal health certification complications around bringing back animals from these shows to the UK for commercial purposes. No such complications exist if the animals are personal pets.
If an animal identified on the CITES appendices (annex) is brought into the UK without the correct paperwork this would be classed as smuggling and would be illegal. In the event of people found with controlled species and no paperwork (or paperwork not correctly wet-stamped) the animals would be confiscated, and the offender potentially fined or worse.
Microchipping of Appendix I animals
Once an Appendix I animal is of appropriate size (consult a specialist veterinarian if unsure) it should be microchipped (referred to by CITES as permanently marked). The Article 10 paperwork should then be returned to the APHA to have the microchip number specified in print on the form. This then physically links the paperwork to an animal. In the event of escape or theft it can also be returned to the owner. Some species due to size or taxon cannot be microchipped and this is accepted by CITES, birds for example may have rings placed on their legs for identification.
What about those little guys?
Two examples of species that present problems when it comes to the Article-10 process are Kaiser’s Newts (Neurergus kaiseri) and William’s Electric Blue Day Gecko (Lygodactylus williamsi). These species were elevated from obscurity to Appendix I (Annex A) over night. This posed two problems. Firstly, no one had ever been required to keep provenance records prior to their inclusion. Before their proposed elevation and via lobbying of the APHA a pre-notification of ownership could be sent in. If the APHA deemed the applicant to be ‘kosher’ they would issue A10 paperwork for the adults and subsequent progeny. Owners who had not sent in their pre-notification could still apply for A10’s for their animals but this would be carried out on a case-by-case basis. If issued, invariably these would be transaction certificates. The second issue is as mentioned above these species are too small to be permanently marked by microchipping. CITES do not accept photographic ID of animals at this juncture.
The immediate upgrade of a species to Appendix I (Annex A) is beset with problems for both the authorities and the keepers of said species. We are in a period where addition (or upgrading) of species is the direction of travel rather than removal or downgrading. CITES have made clear in meetings with REPTA that any proposed species reviews will be made available to REPTA ahead of time, so owners have the chance to pre-notify CITES of ownership with a view to accessing the required A10 paperwork.
There are three steps to this process
(The BETA testing phase of the online application process has now been rolled out and paper form applications are being phased out. Previously, a printed out A10 blank could be filled in with an animal’s information but this is no longer the case. The steps below are regarding the online application process.)
- You must fill in the details individually for each of the specimens that require a new Article 10, carefully inputting their existing Article 10 number. Make sure that you mark the box that allows the sale of this species (for commercial purposes) otherwise the animals will be unsellable. You must then write a cover letter explaining what you require from the CITES team and post with the original Article 10s you received from the breeder (do not accept photocopies). You should however, make copies for yourself to keep for your records.
- Costs are identified on the website for this application process. The first specimen of a species costs £31.00 for the application. More specimens (of the same species) are charged at a lower rate of £1.50 per application. So, in this example, the first specimen application will cost £31.00 then there will be four more specimens at the lower rate of £1.50 giving an overall total cost of £37.00. These prices may change over time so use the process as an example rather than just accepting the prices indicated here. This disjointed part of this process is then having to ring the APHA and pay for these applications over the phone. 01633 631 800 A reference number will be provided, and this should be clearly marked on your cover letter when you send in the Article 10’s to be changed into the business name.
- If this is your first application or a first application for this species after an undisclosed period of time you may be contacted by email with follow up questions from the APHA regarding the animal’s husbandry. Questions regarding what infrastructure you have in place for them etc. Answer as thoroughly as possible and return to the APHA as soon as possible. Delays will extend the period it takes for your new paperwork to arrive, and in turn be able to offer them for sale to get back your investment.
REPTA would say at this juncture that this process is unnecessarily complicated and with technology and website development being as advanced as it is, there is no reason why the website cannot keep track of the amount of species being applied for and the amount of specimens of each species to give a running total at the end of the process and to pay digitally without being on hold to the APHA team whilst trying to run a busy business. However, this is the process and whilst there are flaws within it, to be able to acquire the paperwork necessary, you must engage with the system that is in place.
What’s in a name?
Care must be taken when using vernacular or common names on the application for Article 10 paperwork. In nearly all instances you will be working with a previous transaction certificate. Use the information that was previously accepted for the specimen for which you are applying.
For example, if you are applying for a Sri Lankan Rock Python (because the hobby and industry still acknowledges them as separate to Indian Rock Pythons), CITES do not acknowledge their existence and instead you would use the accepted common name of Tiger Python or Indian Python.
CITES does not necessarily keep pace with taxonomy and does not always recognise the latest changes in this rapidly adapting area of science.
Another example would be the splitting of the Madagascan Tree Boas by taxonomists into Sanzinia madagascariensis and Sanzinia volontany. CITES currently, does not recognise this taxonomic shift and all are still considered Sanzinia madagascariensis.
Also, a manmade cultivar or morph or a specific locality are of no pertinence to the CITES application process. No regard is given to it being a Yellowbelly Piebald Royal Python, simply that it is a Royal Python (Python regius). Regardless of the locality or morph of a Dying Poinson Arrow Frog, it is to CITES simply Dendrobates tinctorius.
To aid you with the application process you can use the species + website where accepted latin names and common names are listed. But, in the first instance referring to the document you are updating to your business details would be best.
Species+ speciesplus.net
Case Study Example for business owners (Appendix I / Annex A)
A breeder has approached you as a business to purchase some animals they have managed to produce through captive breeding projects. We will use the example of 5 Argentine Boas (Boa constrictor occidentalis). You purchase the Boas at a trade price and are supplied either a copy of the Transaction A10 or the original Specimen Specific A10 from the breeder, with a view to offering them for sale in the shop. You must apply for new Article 10s in the business name before they are offered for sale in the case of them having had a previous Transaction A10 or be ready to hand-on the original Specimen Specific A10. The animals must not be displayed on the shop floor until the paperwork is in place. Any advertisement of these snakes will require that their A10 certificate number is displayed as well. This includes both the shop display vivaria and any digital advertisements on the business website or pets for sale advertising websites.
The contact details of the CITES team can be found on the A10 paperwork in a box near the top on the right-hand side. The following applies to transaction certificated animals only. Specimen specific paperwork requires no action, apart from the paperwork being handed to the new owner. Copies should be retained for your records or if an investigation by the APHA ever takes place.
Apply for CITES permits and certificates to move or trade endangered species – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Navigating the Article 10
Below we have included an example A10 transaction certificate and have highlighted what information is needed where to aid your application process.
If in doubt do not hesitate to contact APHA on the phone number indicated with the red arrow. They are not trying to catch you out will be able to help you through the process. Alternatively call Charles Thompson (REPTA Trade Delegate) on 07769219195 / 01142658299
