[NHCOLL-L:4949] Re: CITES advice needed
Dirk Neumann
Dirk.Neumann at zsm.mwn.de
Wed Sep 1 03:25:50 EDT 2010
Yes, I would agree that "trade" should read as "international movement",
but the passages I know from the European Customs legislation regulating
the import of CITES material are ambiguous here, leaving (perhaps to
much) room for interpretation. Customs law clearly focuses on commercial
trade (purchased souvenirs, products made from CITES species, etc.),
single hobbyists may be exempted for rearing of CITES species (including
even more regulations and bureaucracy) . Even zoo animals and mounted
specimen exchanged e.g. for display in natural history collections which
clearly serve for commercial interests may fall out of the strict
permits under custom regulation - but this may differ in single
countries, while I was referring to the legislation in the European
Community.
The only exception under EC legislation I know is granted for the
exchange of scientific material. At least from custom legislation
regulating the import of CITES specimens into the EC, I don't know
further restrictions such as the requirement of specific research
projects which would facilitate/limit the import. So we should pay
attention to Ellen's comment towards exact wording in the CITES
regulations (which might be interpreted in other countries in a
different way). Sorry for my generalisation.
Regarding "current CITES legislation" & CITES registering of all CITES
specimens: As I understood the recent discussion here in Europe, all
available CITES species and specimens needs to be registered. This
surely was imposed for hobbyists without overseeing the consequences for
natural history collections (zoos need to register their specimens
anyway for many reasons related with rearing & holding of endangered,
dangerous, venomous, ... species), but as far as I know there are
museums which must register single CITES specimens recently which were
e.g. on loan for exhibition/display in other museums. For good reason it
seems that nobody really wants to raise dusts here ...
Dirk
Am 31.08.2010 20:17, schrieb Ellen Paul:
> The term "trade" in the context of CITES means "international
> movement" and NOT "trade" in the commercial sense.
>
> So yes, it is very much restricted even if not for commercial
> purposes; scientific research is an exemption to the complete ban for
> Appendix I species. The regulations and procedures apply to all
> international movement for all three appendices.
>
> The concept of "CITES registered institutions" is about the procedures
> by which specimens may move internationally. If accessioned specimens
> are moving between CITES registered institutions, they can move under
> Certificates of Scientific Exchange (COSE) rather than permits.
> Movement under a COSE is considerably easier - NO VALIDATION! A
> CONSIDERABLE PROBLEM - and cheaper.
>
> By "the current CITES legislation" do you mean some legislation that
> is pending in Germany?
>
> Ellen
> Ellen Paul
> Executive Director
> The Ornithological Council
> Email:ellen.paul at verizon.netBy
> "Providing Scientific Information about Birds"
> http://www.nmnh.si.edu/BIRDNET"
>
>
> On 8/31/10 11:24 AM, Dirk Neumann wrote:
>> CITES banns the _TRADE _of Cites listed species; import of CITES
>> species (e.g. zoos) and especially for scientific purpose is not
>> restricted to my knowledge and the Japanese whaling industry is using
>> this legal loophole well.
>>
>> As far as I know the import of CITES specimens for scientific
>> research is not tied to a specific ongoing research project, but to
>> CITES registered institutions or persons in the respective countries
>> (see at http://www.cites.org/common/reg/e_si.html). No idea regarding
>> not listed institutes or non member states. To facilitate scientific
>> research on CITES species, the exchange of specimens btwn CITES
>> institutes is explicitly relieved by the "label" procedure.
>>
>> The current CITES legislation would require that all Natural History
>> Collections register their CITES specimens stored in the collections
>> (which many museums don't do at the moment because of the involved
>> time / staff constraints), but anyway, the nature of these specimens
>> is to serve as reference material in a collection (without current
>> research projects linked to them).
>>
>> The critical point is, that the specimens have been obtained and
>> acquired legally (which can hardly be documented for most specimens
>> stored for decades in collections anyway), and this must be
>> documented in detail. As Federal or National Institution, I would
>> abstain from any acquisition if in case of even slight doubts
>> regarding the whereabouts or the legal status of the specimen.
>>
>> Dirk
>>
>>
>>
>> Am 31.08.2010 15:58, schrieb Mariko Kageyama:
>>> Hello,
>>>
>>> Thank you very much Ellen for your helpful comments. The same
>>> Japanese colleague would like to ask a follow-up question to the
>>> community as below. You may respond on- or off-list.
>>>
>>> -------
>>> I would like to ask a more general question to the natural history
>>> community. Do you have a success story to share with us regarding
>>> export/import of preserved museum specimens of CITES Appendix I
>>> species solely for the purpose of acquiring (or exchanging,
>>> donating) voucher specimens to add permanently to another
>>> ornithological or any vertebrate zoological collection for future
>>> benefit to the scientific community (rather than for the purpose of
>>> conducting proposed scientific research, or a combination of both
>>> research and depositing the study material to a permanent collection
>>> in an importing country after research is completed)? Exporting
>>> country could be any scientific institution in any CITES Parties (or
>>> even non-Parties, like our pending case). An importer could be any
>>> scientific institution in the U.S. or from any CITES Parties. I am
>>> interested to learn whether "the purpose" really does not matter: if
>>> the treaty text does not differentiate between "for research" vs
>>> "for collection" to issue import/export permits for CITES Appendix I
>>> species, that could be a strong point of argument for us in
>>> conjunction with your success stories next time we speak with the
>>> Japanese government official at the Management Authority. Many
>>> thanks in advance.
>>> ---------------
>>>
>>>
>>> --- On *Thu, 8/26/10, Ellen Paul /<ellen.paul at verizon.net>/* wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> From: Ellen Paul <ellen.paul at verizon.net>
>>> Subject: CITES advice needed
>>> To: "Mariko Kageyama" <aspeciosus at yahoo.com>
>>> Cc: PERMIT-l at gold.sdsmt.edu
>>> Date: Thursday, August 26, 2010, 12:47 PM
>>>
>>> I'm not aware of/not finding any provision in the text of the
>>> treaty itself that distinguishes between "for collection" vs.
>>> "for research" in terms of when it is OK to accept an import
>>> from a country that is not a party to CITES.
>>>
>>> Article X says:
>>>
>>> /Article X/
>>>
>>> * Trade with States not Party to the Convention*
>>>
>>> Where export or re-export is to, or import is from, a State not
>>> a Party to the present Convention, comparable documentation
>>> issued by the competent authorities in that State which
>>> substantially conforms with the requirements of the present
>>> Convention for permits and certificates may be accepted in lieu
>>> thereof by any Party.
>>>
>>>
>>> If the exporting country has a functioning wildlife authority,
>>> it seems that this provision would cover the acceptance by the
>>> importing country, regardless of the purpose, so long as the
>>> purpose is covered by Appendix I, i.e., " the specimen is not to
>>> be used for primarily commercial purposes and if the import will
>>> be for purposes that are not detrimental to the survival of the
>>> species.
>>>
>>> There may be something more specific in the resolutions, but
>>> just scanning the list quickly, I don't see anything.
>>>
>>> Ellen Paul
>>> Executive Director
>>> The Ornithological Council
>>> Email:ellen.paul at verizon.net </mc/compose?to=ellen.paul at verizon.net>
>>> "Providing Scientific Information about Birds"
>>> http://www.nmnh.si.edu/BIRDNET" <http://www.nmnh.si.edu/BIRDNET>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On 8/26/10 1:25 PM, Mariko Kageyama wrote:
>>>> Hello,
>>>>
>>>> I am posting this for a Japanese colleague (anonymous) who
>>>> works at a natural history collection institution in Japan. I
>>>> hope you can give any suggestions to her.
>>>>
>>>> ********
>>>> A researcher who is affiliated with an academic institution in
>>>> the country that is NOT a member of the CITES Parties intends
>>>> to donate a bird specimen, specifically a skeleton of a bird
>>>> species that is listed on the Appendix I. He initially
>>>> approached our bird collection in Japan as a permanent
>>>> repository of the voucher specimen because there is no adequate
>>>> natural history collection facility at his institution or
>>>> elsewhere in his country and he desires to deposit the specimen
>>>> to an overseas collection institution that can provide proper
>>>> care and storage. He and his colleagues legally acquired this
>>>> specimen (which was captured live and kept and died in
>>>> captivity during rehabilitation) and already reported this bird
>>>> as the first record from an island of the country and also
>>>> included information as to how they obtained it, in a paper on
>>>> an international ornithological journal.
>>>>
>>>> We consulted with the officials at the Ministry of Economy,
>>>> Trade and Industry in Tokyo, which is CITES Management
>>>> Authority of Japan (a member of the Parties). According to
>>>> their advice, it would be difficult to approve this particular
>>>> case and a CITES import permit won't be granted as long as we
>>>> describe the purpose of import as "accessioning the voucher
>>>> specimen to our permanent collection for future scientific use
>>>> in the ornithological community." In other words, the
>>>> Management Authority "might" consider issuing an import/export
>>>> permit when the specimen is meant to be used primarily for a
>>>> proposed or ongoing scientific research project. This
>>>> interpretation may apply only to cases in Japan, and I am
>>>> curious about the situation in other countries. If we learn
>>>> that it is very difficult to get an import permit for whatever
>>>> reason, we will have to tell the donor to consider other museum
>>>> options in a different country, that may provide an easier path
>>>> for overseas transport of a CITES-listed animal from a
>>>> non-CITES state. But we are still interested in getting this
>>>> voucher specimen over to Japan legally, and continue discussing
>>>> the matter with the Management Authority. We would greatly
>>>> appreciate your advice in this matter and sharing your
>>>> experience in similar circumstances.
>>>> ************
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> translated and posted by
>>>>
>>>> Mariko Kageyama
>>>> Collections Manager, Vertebrate Zoology
>>>> University of Colorado Museum of Natural History
>>>> Boulder, Colorado 80309-0265
>>>> U.S.A.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> PERMIT-L mailing list
>>>> PERMIT-L at gold.sdsmt.edu </mc/compose?to=PERMIT-L at gold.sdsmt.edu>
>>>> http://gold.sdsmt.edu/mailman/listinfo/permit-l
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Dirk Neumann
>>
>> Tel: 089 / 8107-111
>> Fax: 089 / 8107-300
>> email: Dirk.Neumann(a)zsm.mwn.de
>>
>> Postanschrift:
>>
>> Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns
>> Zoologische Staatssammlung München
>> Dirk Neumann, Sektion Ichthyologie / DNA-Labor
>> Münchhausenstr. 21
>> 81247 München
>>
>> Besuchen Sie unsere Sammlung:
>> http://www.zsm.mwn.de/ich/
>>
>> ---------
>>
>> Dirk Neumann
>>
>> Tel: +49-89-8107-111
>> Fax: +49-89-8107-300
>> email: Dirk.Neumann(a)zsm.mwn.de
>>
>> postal address:
>>
>> Bavarian Natural History Collections
>> The Bavarian State Collection of Zoology
>> Dirk Neumann, Section Ichthyology / DNA-Lab
>> Muenchhausenstr. 21
>> 81247 Munich (Germany)
>>
>> Visit our section at:
>> http://www.zsm.mwn.de/ich/
>>
--
Dirk Neumann
Tel: 089 / 8107-111
Fax: 089 / 8107-300
email: Dirk.Neumann(a)zsm.mwn.de
Postanschrift:
Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns
Zoologische Staatssammlung München
Dirk Neumann, Sektion Ichthyologie / DNA-Labor
Münchhausenstr. 21
81247 München
Besuchen Sie unsere Sammlung:
http://www.zsm.mwn.de/ich/
---------
Dirk Neumann
Tel: +49-89-8107-111
Fax: +49-89-8107-300
email: Dirk.Neumann(a)zsm.mwn.de
postal address:
Bavarian Natural History Collections
The Bavarian State Collection of Zoology
Dirk Neumann, Section Ichthyology / DNA-Lab
Muenchhausenstr. 21
81247 Munich (Germany)
Visit our section at:
http://www.zsm.mwn.de/ich/
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