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Legislation

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


CITES and the EC Wildlife Trade Regulations compose the main legal framework for EU Wildlife Traders and their customers. Additionally, national, other EU legislation and 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 the Enforcement Group and at national level, the CITES Management Authorities and CITES Scientific Authorities, are explained.

 National legislation PDFEN


Although EC 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, such as penalties, that remain under the sovereignty of each Member State. In addition, each EU Member State has other 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 contains the titles of the 25 Member States’ main national laws and regulations that cover CITES and the EC Wildlife Trade Regulations. Where possible, links to the on-line text of these national laws and regulations are included.

Background

CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, is over 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 165 nations have joined the Convention, including all 25 EU Member States, as well as the EU accession and candidate 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 in the early 1990s and the subsequent lack of systematic border controls within the EU, the need for a new and more comprehensive regulation arose. To take these changes into account and ensure compliance with CITES provisions, new EC Wildlife Trade Regulations (Council Regulation (EC) No. 338/1997, which entered into force in June 1997, and related Commission Regulations) were adopted. The latest of these Commission Regulations is Commission Regulation (EC) No. 865/2006 of 4 May 2006, which replaced the previous Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1808/2001 and came into force in July 2006.The EC Wildlife Trade Regulations 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.