CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.
Because the trade in wild animals and plants crosses borders between countries, the effort to regulate it requires international cooperation to safeguard certain species from over-exploitation. CITES was conceived in the spirit of such cooperation. Today, it accords varying degrees of protection to more than 30,000 species of animals and plants, whether they are traded as live specimens, fur coats or dried herbs.
CITES is an international agreement to which States (countries) adhere voluntarily. States that have agreed to be bound by the Convention (‘joined’ CITES) are known as Parties. Although CITES is legally binding on the Parties – in other words they have to implement the Convention – it does not take the place of national laws. Rather it provides a framework to be respected by each Party, which has to adopt its own domestic legislation to ensure that CITES is implemented at the national level.
HOW CITES WORKS:
Below is a list of the most common mammals and reptiles as listed in the CITES Appendixes with regards to the hunting industry in South Africa.
Should you want to hunt ANY of the mentioned species, you will need a Special Hunting Permit for each of the species listed below.
Your Hunting Outfitter will have to take out the Hunting Permit PRIOR to you hunting the mammal or reptile. This permit needs to have the following details listed:
Hunter’s name
Hunter’s full physical address (NO POSTAL ADDRESSES)
Farm where activity will take place
Period when the activity will take place (usually valid for one month)
This original hunting permit must be signed by the hunter, before leaving South Africa. Should this permit not be signed by the specified hunter, the export permit will not be issued. Please make sure all your details; spelling of name, spelling of address, name of town, etc. are correctly captured on this permit. Should this information differ in any way from other documentation, an investigation will be conducted into your hunting safari. This might delay your consignment by anything up to six months!
Herewith a list of the CITES Species as listed under Appendix I:
Leopard
Black Rhinoceros (no export to USA except with special pre-arranged permit)
Black-footed Cat
Cheetah (no export to USA)
Ground Pangolin
Scimitar-Horned Oryx
The client must first apply for a CITES IMPORT Permit from his local authority. This permit can be obtained AFTER the safari upon return to his / her home country.
On receipt of the IMPORT Permit, a copy should be forwarded to us, before we can apply for the CITES EXPORT Permit.
Upon receipt of the IMPORT Permit, we can apply for an EXPORT Permit. The EXPORT Permit will NOT be issued without a copy of the IMPORT Permit.
EUROPEAN UNION CHANGES:
The European Commission has finalized new importation rules for Lion, Elephant and Hippopotamus, which came into effect on 5 February 2015. According to these rules, the client (or his / her clearing agent) must apply for an Import Permit before the consignment may be released for shipping. This basically move the mentioned species up from Appendix II to Appendix I.
Herewith a list of the CITES Species as listed under Appendix II:
Hippopotamus (except for EU Countries where it is listed under Appendix I)
Elephant (except for EU Countries where it is listed under Appendix I)
Lion (except for EU Countries where it is listed under Appendix I)
Crocodile
Bontebok (except for USA where it is listed under Appendix I)
Caracal
Hartmann Zebra
Cape Mountain Zebra (no export to USA)
White Rhinoceros
All Monkeys
All Baboons
Blue Duiker
African Wild Cat
Red Lechwe
Giraffe
Serval
With CITES App. II listed species, the permit application procedure is just the other way round than the CITES App. I species.
With App. II species we apply directly for the CITES EXPORT Permit. The consignment will then be exported after which the CITES IMPORT Permit will be issued upon arrival of the consignment in your home country.
