§ 23.46 - What are the requirements for registering a commercial breeding operation for Appendix-I wildlife and commercially exporting specimens?

§ 23.46 What are the requirements for registering a commercial breeding operation for Appendix-I wildlife and commercially exporting specimens?

(a) Purpose. Article VII(4) of the Treaty provides that Appendix-I specimens that are bred in captivity for commercial purposes shall be deemed to be listed in Appendix II. This means that an Appendix-I specimen originating from a commercial breeding operation that is registered with the CITES Secretariat may be traded under an export permit or re-export certificate based on Appendix-II criteria. The specimen is still listed in Appendix I and is not eligible for any exemption granted to an Appendix-II species or taxon, including any exemption granted by an annotation (see § 23.92).

(b) U.S. and foreign general provisions. The following provisions apply to the registration of U.S. and foreign commercial breeding operations for Appendix-I wildlife:

(1) If the Management Authority is satisfied that the operation in its country meets the conditions for registration in paragraph (d) of this section, it will send the request to register a breeding operation to the Secretariat.

(2) The Secretariat will verify that the application is complete and notify the Parties of the request.

(3) If any Party objects to or expresses concern about the registration within 90 days from the date of the Secretariat's notification, the Secretariat will refer the application to the Animals Committee. The Committee has 60 days to respond to objections. The Secretariat will provide the recommendations of the Committee to the Management Authority of the Party that submitted the application and the Party that objected to the registration, and will allow a further 30 days for resolution of the identified problems.

(4) If the objection is not withdrawn or the identified problems are not resolved within the 30-day period, the Secretariat will submit the application to the Standing Committee at its next regular meeting. The Standing Committee will determine whether the objection is justified and decide whether to accept the application.

(5) When the Secretariat is satisfied that the operation meets the registration requirements, it will include the operation in its register.

(6) Operations are assigned an identification number and listed in the official register. Registration is not final until the Secretariat notifies all Parties.

(7) If a Party believes that a registered operation does not meet the bred-in-captivity requirements, it may, after consultation with the Secretariat and the Party concerned, propose to the Standing Committee that the operation be deleted from the register. At its following meeting, the Standing Committee will consider the concerns raised by the objecting Party, and any comments from the registering Party and the Secretariat, and determine whether the operation should be deleted from the register. Once an operation has been deleted, it must re-apply and meet the registration requirements to be reinstated.

(8) The Management Authority, in collaboration with the Scientific Authority, of a country where any registered operation is located must monitor the operation to ensure that it continues to meet the registration requirements. In the United States, we will monitor registered operations, in part, by requiring each operation to apply for renewal and demonstrate that it continues to qualify for registration at least once every 5 years. (See paragraphs (e)(4) and (f) of this section.) The Management Authority will advise the Secretariat of any major change in the nature of the operation or in the types of products being produced for export.

(9) A Party may unilaterally request the removal of a registered operation within its jurisdiction by notifying the Secretariat.

(10) An Appendix-I specimen may not be imported for purposes of establishing or augmenting a commercial breeding operation, unless the specimen is pre-Convention (see § 23.45) or was bred in captivity (see § 23.63).

(c) U.S. application to register. Complete Form 3-200-65 and submit it to the U.S. Management Authority.

(d) Criteria. The criteria in this paragraph (d) apply to the registration of U.S. and foreign commercial breeding operations for Appendix-I wildlife. For your breeding operation to be registered in the United States, you must provide sufficient information for us to find that your proposed activity meets all of the following criteria:

Criteria for registering a commercial breeding operation for Appendix-I wildlife	Section
(1) The operation breeds wildlife for commercial purposes.	23.5
(2) The parental stock was legally acquired.	23.60
(3) The wildlife meets bred-in-captivity criteria.	23.63
(4) Where the establishment of a breeding operation involves the removal of animals from the wild (allowable only under exceptional circumstances and only for native species), the operation must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Management Authority, on advice of the Scientific Authority and of the Secretariat, that the removal is or was not detrimental to the conservation of the species.	-
(5) The potential escape of specimens or pathogens from the facility does not pose a risk to the ecosystem and native species.	-
(6) The scientific name of the species is the standard nomenclature in the CITES Appendices or the references adopted by the CoP.	23.23
(7) The breeding operation will make a continuing, meaningful contribution to the conservation of the species according to the conservation needs of the species.	-
(8) The operation will be carried out at all stages in a humane (non-cruel) manner.	-

(e) Standard conditions of the registration. In addition to the conditions in § 23.56, you must meet all of the following conditions:

(1) You must uniquely mark all specimens from the breeding operation in the manner proposed at the time of registration. Birds may be marked with closed bands, although other methods may be used.

(2) You may not import Appendix-I specimens for primarily commercial purposes (such as to establish a commercial captive-breeding operation) except from breeding operations registered for that species.

(3) You must allow our agents to enter the premises at any reasonable hour to inspect wildlife held or to inspect, audit, or copy applicable records.

(4) Registrations will be valid for a period not to exceed 5 years. Registrants who wish to remain registered must request renewal before the end of the period of validity of the registration.

(f) U.S. application to renew a registration. Requests for renewal of a registration should be submitted at least 3 months before the registration expires. Complete Form 3-200-65 and submit it to the U.S. Management Authority.

(g) Criteria for renewal of U.S. registrations. To renew your registration, you must provide sufficient information for us to find that your proposed activity continues to meet all of the criteria in paragraph (d) of this section.

(h) U.S. and foreign general provisions for export of specimens that originated in a registered breeding operation. The following provisions apply to the issuance and acceptance of export permits for Appendix-I specimens bred at an operation registered with the CITES Secretariat:

(1) An export permit may be issued to the registered operation or to persons who have purchased a specimen that originated at the registered operation if the specimen has the unique mark applied by the operation. If a microchip is used, we may, if necessary, ask the importer, exporter, or re-exporter to have equipment on hand to read the microchip at the time of import, export, or re-export.

(2) The export permit, and any subsequent re-export certificate, must show the specimen as listed in Appendix I and the source code as “D,” and give the identification number of the registered breeding operation where the specimen originated.

(3) No CITES import permit is required for a qualifying specimen.

(i) U.S. application form. Complete the appropriate form (see § 23.36) and submit it to the U.S. Management Authority.

(j) Criteria. The criteria in this paragraph (h) apply to the issuance and acceptance of U.S. and foreign export permits. When applying for a U.S. permit, you must provide sufficient information for us to find that your proposed activity meets all of the following criteria:

Criteria for an export permit	Section
(1) The specimen was bred at a commercial operation for Appendix-I wildlife that is registered with the CITES Secretariat.	23.46
(2) The proposed export would not be detrimental to the survival of the species.	23.61
(3) Live wildlife will be prepared and shipped so as to minimize risk of injury, damage to health, or cruel treatment of the specimen.	23.23

[72 FR 48448, Aug. 23, 2007, as amended at 79 FR 30426, May 27, 2014]