Wildlife trade legislation
 Table of content
Overview
CITES is implemented in the EU through a
set of Regulations known as the Wildlife Trade Regulations.
Currently these are Council Regulation (EC) No. 338/97 on
the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating
trade therein (the Basic Regulation) and Commission Regulation
(EC) No 865/2006 laying down detailed rules concerning the
implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 (the Implementing
Regulation). In addition, a specific Regulation is in place
to suspend the introduction into the Community of certain
species from certain countries (known as the Suspensions
Regulation).
In addition to this core legislation, a
Commission Recommendation to the Member States (Commission
Recommendation No 2007/425/EC identifying a set of actions
for the enforcement of Regulation (EC) No 338/97 on the protection
of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein)
specifies further the measures that should be taken for the
enforcement of the Wildlife Trade Regulations.
Basic Regulation
Council Regulation (EC) No. 338/97
deals with the protection of species of wild fauna and flora
by regulating the trade in these species. It lays down the
provisions for import, export and re-export as well as internal
EU trade in specimens of species listed in its four Annexes.
It provides for procedures and documents required for such
trade (import and export permits, re-export certificates,
import notifications and internal trade certificates) and
it regulates the movement of live specimens. It also sets
out specific requirements for Member States to ensure compliance
with the Regulation and to impose adequate sanctions for infringements.
The Regulation also establishes a number
of bodies at EU level, i.e. the Committee on Trade in Wild
Fauna and Flora, the Scientific Review Group and the Enforcement
Group, all of which consist of representatives of the Member
States and are convened and chaired by the European Commission.
Species Listed in the Annexes to Regulation
No. 338/97
Council Regulation (EC) No. 338/97 covers
species listed in its four Annexes:
Annex A includes:
- All CITES Appendix I species, except where an EU Member
State has entered a reservation
- Some CITES Appendix II and III species, for which the
EU has adopted stricter domestic measures
- Some non-CITES species
Annex B includes:
- All other CITES Appendix II species, except where an EU
Member State has entered a reservation
- Some CITES Appendix III species
- Some non-CITES species
Annex C includes:
All other CITES Appendix III species, except
where an EU Member State has entered a reservation
Annex D includes:
- Some CITES Appendix III species for which the EU holds
a reservation
- Some non-CITES species
Amendments to the Annexes of the Basic Regulation
Whenever the list of species listed in the Annexes to Council Regulation (EC) N° 338/97 changes, e.g. in order to implement listing decisions of the Conference of the Parties this is done through a Commission amending Regulation.
After the 14th meeting of the Conference of Parties to CITES (CoP14) in June 2007, the whole of the Annex to Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 was replaced. Besides deletion and inclusion of several species on the CITES Appendices, CITES CoP14 decided as well to change the nomenclatural references and to rearrange the listing of animal species in the CITES Appendices so that the orders, families and genera are presented in alphabetical order. The EU Annexes have therefore been amended and the species listed in the Annexes have been renamed and reordered.
The most recent version of the Annexes is published in Commission Regulation (EC) No 407/2009 of 14 May 2009 amending Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein (OJ L 123, 19.5.2009, p. 3).
Implementing Regulation
Commission Regulation (EC) No. 865/2006 lays down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 and addresses practical aspects of its implementation. It also implements the bulk of currently applicable recommendations of the Conference of the Parties on the interpretation and implementation of CITES provisions.
It provides standard model forms that must be used for permits, certificates, notifications and applications for these documents as well as labels for scientific specimens. It defines additional rules for issuing these documents, their validity and use.
Other subjects covered by this Regulation include provisions for animals born and bred in captivity, artificially propagated plants, personal and household effects and for the marking and labelling of certain specimens.
Regulation (EC) No 865/2006 has been amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 100/2008 of 4 February 2008 (Official Journal L 31 of 5 February 2008). The amendments concern sample collections and certain formalities relating to the trade in species of wild fauna and flora.
Suspensions Regulation
Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 provides the Commission with the possibility to restrict the introduction of species into the European Union. This is done after consultation with the countries of origin concerned and taking into account any opinion of the Scientific Review Group (for further information please refer to the document 'Differences between the EU and CITES' ( pdf 35K).
The most recent Suspensions Regulation is Commission Regulation (EC) No 359/2009 of 30 April 2009 suspending the introduction into the Community of specimens of certain wild fauna and flora (OJ L 110, 1.5.2009, p. 3).
Commission Recommendation on enforcement
Commission Recommendation No 2007/425/EC identifying a set of actions for the enforcement of Regulation (EC) No 338/97 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein was adopted in June 2007 (Official Journal L 159 of 20 June 2007) as a follow-up to the Council's December 2006 conclusions on halting the loss of biodiversity and to a Commission study on the Enforcement of the Wildlife Trade Regulations in the EU.
It sets out a series of measures that Member States should implement in order to enhance their efforts to combat illegal trade. These include adopting national action plans for enforcement, imposing sufficiently high penalties for wildlife trade offences and using risk and intelligence assessments to detect illegal and smuggled wildlife products. The recommendation also addresses the need for increased public awareness about the negative impacts of illegal wildlife trade and for greater cooperation and exchange of information within and between Member States as well as with third countries and relevant international organizations (e.g. Interpol, World Customs Organization).
Review of EC Wildlife Trade Regulations
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