Commission regulation (EC) No 865/2006 of 4 May 2006 laying down detailed rules concerning the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein
Commission regulation (EC) No 865/2006 of 4 May 2006 laying down detailed rules concerning the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 of 9 December 1996 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein(1) and in particular Article 19 (1), (2) and (4) thereof,
Whereas:
Provisions are required to implement Regulation (EC) No 338/97 and to ensure full compliance with the provisions of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), hereinafter ‘the Convention’.
In order to ensure the uniform implementation of Regulation (EC) No 338/97, it is necessary to lay down detailed conditions and criteria for the consideration of permit and certificate applications and for the issue, validity and use of such documents. It is therefore appropriate to lay down models to which those documents must correspond.
It is further necessary to lay down detailed provisions relating to the conditions and criteria for the treatment of specimens of animal species that are born and bred in captivity and of specimens of plant species that are artificially propagated in order to ensure the common implementation of the derogations applicable to such specimens.
The derogations for specimens that are personal and household effects provided for in Article 7(3) of Regulation (EC) No 338/97 require that provisions be specified to ensure compliance with paragraph 3 of Article VII of the Convention.
In order to ensure that general derogations from the internal trade prohibitions contained in Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 338/97 are uniformly applied, it is necessary to lay down conditions and criteria with regard to their definition.
It is necessary to establish procedures for the marking of certain specimens of species in order to facilitate their identification and ensure enforcement of the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 338/97.
Provisions should be laid down regarding the contents, form and submission of the periodic reports provided for in Regulation (EC) No 338/97.
In order for future amendments to the Annexes to Regulation (EC) No 338/97 to be considered all relevant information should be available, particularly on the biological and trade status of species, their use and methods of controlling trade.
At the 12th session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention, held in Santiago (Chile) from 3 to 15 November 2002, a number of Resolutions were adopted concerning; inter alia; simplified procedures for the issue of permits and certificates, a special certificate to facilitate the movement of certain categories of specimens that are part of a travelling exhibition, additional derogations regarding personal effects, updated requirements regarding the labelling of containers of caviar, and other measures of a routine and technical nature, including the alteration of the codes used in permits and certificates and amendments to the list of standard references used for determining the names of species listed in the Appendices to the Convention, and it is therefore necessary to take those Resolutions into account.
In view of the administrative burden entailed by the regulation of the export and import of live captive born and bred and personally owned animals and of personally owned animals introduced into the Community before Regulation (EC) No 338/97, Council Regulation (EEC) No 3626/82 of 3 December 1982 on the implementation in the Community of the Convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora(2) or national legislation implementing the Convention became applicable, and of the fact that such exports and imports do not pose an obstacle to the protection of species of fauna in the wild, a special certificate should be created for those purposes.
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1808/2001 of 30 August 2001 laying down detailed rules concerning the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein(3) therefore needs to be substantially amended. In view of the scope of those amendments and in the interests of clarity, that Regulation should be replaced in its entirety.
The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee on Trade in Wild Fauna and Flora,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
CHAPTER I DEFINITIONS
Article 1 Definitions
For the purposes of this Regulation, in addition to the definitions laid down in Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 338/97, the following definitions shall apply:
‘date of acquisition’ means the date on which a specimen was taken from the wild, born in captivity or artificially propagated;
‘second-generation offspring (F2)’ and ‘subsequent generation offspring (F3, F4, and so on)’ means specimens produced in a controlled environment from parents that were also produced in a controlled environment, as distinct from specimens produced in a controlled environment from parents at least one of which was conceived in or taken from the wild (first-generation offspring (F1));
‘breeding stock’ means all the animals in a breeding operation that are used for reproduction;
‘controlled environment’ means an environment that is manipulated for the purpose of producing animals of a particular species, that has boundaries designed to prevent animals, eggs or gametes of the species from entering or leaving, and the general characteristics of which may include but are not limited to artificial housing, waste removal, health care, protection from predators and the artificial supply of food;
‘a person normally residing in the Community’ means a person who lives in the Community for at least 185 days in each calendar year because of occupational ties, or, in the case of a person with no occupational ties, because of personal ties which show close links between that person and the place where he is living;
‘travelling exhibition’ means a sample collection, travelling circus, menagerie, or plant exhibition that is used for commercial display for the public;
‘transaction-specific certificates’ means certificates issued in accordance with Article 48 that are valid for specified transactions only within the territory of the issuing Member State;
‘specimen-specific certificates’ means certificates issued in accordance with Article 48, other than transaction-specific certificates.
CHAPTER II FORMS AND TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
Article 2 Forms
The forms on which import permits, export permits, re-export certificates, personal ownership certificates and applications for such documents are drawn up shall conform, except as regards spaces reserved for national use, to the model set out in Annex I.
The forms on which import notifications are drawn up shall conform, except as regards spaces reserved for national use, to the model set out in Annex II. They may contain a serial number.
The forms on which travelling exhibition certificates and applications for such documents are drawn up shall conform, except as regards spaces reserved for national use, to the model set out in Annex III.
The forms on which continuation sheets for personal ownership certificates and for travelling exhibition certificates are drawn up shall conform to the model set out in Annex IV.
The forms on which the certificates provided for in Articles 5(2)(b), 5(3), 5(4), 8(3) and 9(2)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 338/97 and applications for such certificates are drawn up shall conform, except as regards spaces reserved for national use, to the model set out in Annex V to this Regulation.
Member States may, however, provide that, instead of the pre-printed text, boxes 18 and 19 are to contain only the relevant certification and/or authorisation.
The form of the labels referred to in Article 7(4) of Regulation (EC) No 338/97 shall conform to the model set out in Annex VI to this Regulation.