Legislation

This section gives you an overview of the regulations and laws in adopted at international, EU and national levels with relevance to wildlife trade and nature conservation, while also summarizing provisions relating to animal and plant welfare, veterinary and phytosanitary regulations, zoos as well as botanical gardens and customs.

International legislation (download PDF)

CITES and EU Wildlife Trade Regulations compose the main legal framework for EU Wildlife Traders and customers. Additionally, national, other EU legislation as well as other international species conservation and biodiversity conventions, cover issues such as animal and plant welfare, health regulations, biodiversity, etc. The PDF file to be downloaded, explains how to comply with most EU Wildlife Trade legal obligations and provides information on the species listed in the four Annexes A, B, C and D. In addition, the role and function of the main bodies at EU level such as the CITES Committee, the Scientific Review Group and Enforcement Group and at national level, the CITES Management Authorities and CITES Scientific Authorities, are explained.

National legislation (download PDF)

Although EU Wildlife Trade Regulations are directly applicable in all EU Member States, necessary enforcement provisions must be transferred into National legislation and supplemented with national laws for matters that remain under the sovereignty of each Member State such as penalties. In addition, each EU Member State has legislation relevant to biodiversity and species conservation, veterinary and plant health provisions, animal and plant welfare and customs regulations. With regard to National legislation adopted by EU Member States, the PDF file was prepared to allow for access to the titles and on-line texts of the 15 Member States national laws and regulations that concern wildlife trade, marking of animals and plants, welfare of live specimens, health issues, general species conservation provisions and others, such as issues related to the introduction of exotic organism in European habitats.

Background

CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, is almost 30 years old. It entered into force in 1975 and has since become one of the most important international agreements in the field of species conservation. Today, more than 160 nations have joined the Convention, including all 15 EU Member States and all the accession countries.

The aim of CITES is to ensure that international trade in wild animals and plants is not a threat to the conservation of the species in the wild. CITES currently regulates trade in around 30,000 species of fauna and flora, and works through a system of permits and certificates that must be obtained before international trade in specimens of species covered by the Convention can take place. Species are listed in three different Appendices based on their conservation status and levels of international trade.

Since 1982, the EU has implemented CITES through a common regulation that was applicable in all EU Member States, including those that had not yet joined CITES at that time. Due to the establishment of the European Single Market and the subsequent lack of systematic border controls within the EU in the early 1990s, the need for a new and more comprehensive regulation arose. To take these changes into account and ensure compliance with CITES provisions, new EU Wildlife Trade Regulations: Council Regulation (EC) No. 338/1997 and related Commission Regulations were adopted and entered into force in June 1997. They are directly applicable in all EU Member States and form the legal basis for the implementation of CITES in the EU. These legal measures regulate international as well as EU internal wildlife trade and contain additional provisions to CITES.