# CITES and A10's in the US



## FLINTUS (May 25, 2013)

D'you lot have A10 certs for species such as hermanni, radiateds and spur thighs? I've never heard anyone mention it on here.


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## theTurtleRoom (May 25, 2013)

A10? Never heard of that. Might that be part of the UKs enforcement of CITES? Each country uses different methods to enforce CITES.

CITES permits are only required for the actual importation of CITES species. Once they are in the country here, you don't need a permit to possess them. However, there are a number of CITES species that are also covered by other laws in the US and its various states that require other things to be done to keep them.


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## EricIvins (May 25, 2013)

An A10 is an EU deal. It has nothing to do with any animals in the US...


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## FLINTUS (May 25, 2013)

So does that mean WC animals can come in for species such as hermanni and graeca


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## JoesMum (May 26, 2013)

Since 1 November 2012, captive bred, CITES listed, tortoises of 60mm in length or more that have been microchipped can be issued an A10 by DEFRA in the UK. A10 stands for Article 10... the bit of law that covers CITES listed species. This certificate is to prove that they are captive bred and thus stop the illegal wild caught trade in such species.

Without an A10 you cannot buy or sell a CITES species. As this law came into place in 1984, those torts born before that year do not have A10s, like my Joe for example who became a UK resident around 1970.

As anyone who lives in the UK is aware, importing animals into the UK is another challenge even without CITES. As part of disease control regulations, rabies in particular, there are many hoops to jump through and forms and quarantine to complete.


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## theTurtleRoom (May 26, 2013)

FLINTUS said:


> So does that mean WC animals can come in for species such as hermanni and graeca



Yes. They are listed CITES appendix II, meaning they can be imported legally if procedures are followed. I'm sure illegal ones come in, too.


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## Jacqui (May 26, 2013)

theTurtleRoom said:


> A10? Never heard of that.



I didn't recall hearing the term, but did guess right what it was.


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## tortadise (Jun 13, 2013)

As stated above A10 is a European thing. What we do have is the ESA(Endangered Species Act) If a tortoise is on the endangered species act you must have a CBW(Captive bred wildlife) permit. There is one species on the ESA in which does not allow CBW title and that is the Ploughshare. The permit for the ploughshare is a separate permit. ESP (Endangered Species Permit) its very very difficult to get. Even offspring produced by animals are not allowed to be tranfered to other facilities, organizations, zoos, etc... without that permit. 

CITES is an international trade thing. Depending on which classification the tortoise/turtle falls under you have to have this for tansit over international lines. Even going from France to Spain.

CITES III Requires permit from country of origin(Or country it is being shipped out of)
CITES II Requires permit from country of origin(Or country it is being shipped out of)
CITES Id Requires permit for entry and permit for exit of country of origin
CITES Ic requires same as Id
CITES Ib is very difficult to get granted out of country of origin and into country of accepting
CITES Ia is impossible unless both countries(Origin/Accepting) have some sort of diplomatic approval. The ploushares that behler got in from China were a prime example of this type of CITES permit.

Anything is possible. But is very very difficult to get CITES I listed animals out of nations and shipped to accepting nations.

There is also commercial and non commercial customs accounts and registries for trade.
Most importers/exporters here in the US that are suppliers of tortoises/turtles have commercial accounts. They can import CITES I animals but mostly they are denied by USFW(United States Fish and Wildlife) because they feel those animals need to be brought into the country for non-commercial purposes. Example would be a dealer importing animals versus a zoo importing animals. 

Non-Commercial status importers are under different classifications. They can import animals under 4" but are limited to only 6 specimens of turtles/tortoises. They can also be granted CITESId,c,and sometimes b,a animals. it is very difficult. You have to be established with USFW, Customs, and USDA under good record. Most large well known zoos are classified under these "good records". San Diego is a good example. They have success in many captive bred CITESIa.b species like the panda, cheetah, etc.. so they can be granted these animals on CITESIa,b import. 

It gets very very tricky when it comes to some of the really rare and endangered stuff.


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## theTurtleRoom (Jun 13, 2013)

tortadise said:


> As stated above A10 is a European thing. What we do have is the ESA(Endangered Species Act) If a tortoise is on the endangered species act you must have a CBW(Captive bred wildlife) permit. There is one species on the ESA in which does not allow CBW title and that is the Ploughshare. The permit for the ploughshare is a separate permit. ESP (Endangered Species Permit) its very very difficult to get. Even offspring produced by animals are not allowed to be tranfered to other facilities, organizations, zoos, etc... without that permit.



An error here. A CBW is NOT required to possess an animal on the ESA. The CBW permit is required for any interstate commerce related to a species on the ESA. As long as you don't sell, trade, etc these species across state lines, a permit is not required.

Some extra info:

Full list of tortoises on the ESA: Astrochelys radiata, Astrochelys yniphora, Chelonoides nigra ssp., Gopherus agassizii, Gopherus flavomarginatus, and Gopherus polyphemus.

We have some resources pertaining to both the ESA and CITES on our site, they include full lists of species involved with each (the CITES list has even been updated to match the changes made this spring):

http://theturtleroom.com/educational-resources/esa

http://theturtleroom.com/educational-resources/cites


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## tortadise (Jun 13, 2013)

Thanks turtle Room. i did not specify the purpose of CBW. Correct information. They are not needed for possession.


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