Wild animal and plant trade and protection act 2017 annual report: chapter 2

2. Wild animals and plants in trade

2.1. Permitting overview

2.1.1. Requirements

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)

The effective implementation of CITES depends on international cooperation to regulate cross-border movement of listed species through a global system of permits that are verified at international borders. In Canada, CITES permits are issued pursuant to the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act (WAPPRIITA).

There are different permit requirements depending on the CITES appendix in which a species is listed.

  • Appendix I species require both an import and export permit
  • Appendix II species require an export permit
  • Appendix III species require an export permit or certificate of origin

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) issues all export permits and re-export certificates for non indigenous species, as well as all import permits and other specialized CITES certificates. In collaboration with some of Canada’s provinces and territories, ECCC issues export permits and re-export certificates for specimens of indigenous species harvested in Canada. Fisheries and Oceans Canada issues the majority of the export permits for CITES-listed aquatic species.

Other permits

In addition to CITES-listed species, ECCC issues all import permits for species that may pose a risk to Canadian ecosystems. These species are listed in Schedule II of the Wild Animal and Plant Trade Regulations (WAPTR).

Table 1 describes the various types of CITES permits and certificates that are issued in Canada.

Table 1: Types of Canadian permits and certificates under WAPPRIITA
Type of permit or certificate Description
Import permit Issued for all specimens of species included in Schedule I of the WAPTR that are also listed in CITES Appendix I. An export permit from the exporting country is also required to authorize the importation into Canada. Import permits are valid for up to one year.
Export permit Issued for all specimens of species included in Schedule I of the WAPTR that are also listed in CITES Appendix I and II to be exported from Canada. Species that are listed in CITES Appendix III require an export permit when Canada has listed the species in CITES Appendix III (e.g. Walrus). Multiple shipments under a permit can be authorized when the applicant intends to make multiple transactions during the period for which the permit is valid. Export permits are valid for up to six months.
Re-export certificate Issued for all specimens of species included in Schedule I of the WAPTR to be exported from Canada after having been legally imported into Canada at an earlier time. Re-export certificates are valid for up to six months.
Certificate of ownership Issued to authorize frequent cross-border movement of personally owned live CITES-listed animals (also known as a pet passport). Certificates of ownership are valid for up to three years.
Temporary movement/travelling exhibition certificate Issued for specimens that are only temporarily exported from Canada and that will, within a limited amount of time, be returned to Canada. Authorization can be provided for orchestras, museum exhibits or circus specimens that are either pre-Convention, captive bred or artificially propagated. Authorization can also be provided for individuals wanting to travel with musical instruments containing parts made from CITES-listed species (e.g., ivory, Brazilian rosewood). Temporary movement certificates are valid for up to three years.
Scientific certificate Issued for the exchange between CITES-registered scientific institutions of museum, research and herbarium specimens. Scientific certificates are valid for up to three years.
Injurious wildlife permit An Injurious wildlife permit is necessary for importing specimens of species posing risks to Canadian ecosystems that are included in Schedule II of the WAPTR, or in paragraph 5(a) of the WAPTR for the temporary import restrictions. Injurious wildlife permits are valid for up to one year.

2.1.2. Exemptions

WAPPRIITA authorizes exemptions, in specific situations, for the import and export of CITES listed species without permits. These exemptions are specified in the WAPTR. Canadian threatened or endangered species listed on Schedule III of the WAPTR are not included in these exemptions and require all the necessary CITES permits.

Four exemptions are included: tourist souvenirs, personal effects, household effects and certain hunting trophies. The hunting trophy exemption applies to fresh, frozen or salted trophies of Black Bear and Sandhill Crane for American hunters returning to the United States with their trophy harvested in Canada, or for Canadian hunters returning to Canada with their trophy harvested in the United States. Further information on exemptions is available online.

2.1.3. Issuance and monitoring of CITES permits

ECCC has established service standards for WAPPRIITA permit decisions and the issuance of permits. ECCC’s goal is to provide permit decisions within these standards for at least 90% of all permit applications. The performance is tracked on a fiscal year basis: for April 2017 to March 2018, ECCC met or exceeded all targets. The Department’s performance against these standards is published online.

2.2. CITES permits issued in 2017

2.2.1. Export permits and re-export certificates

Export permits are issued for specimens (animals, plants, their parts or derivatives) of CITES-listed species that originate in Canada and are being exported from Canada for the first time.

Re-export certificates are used to track trade in specimens that entered Canada under the authorization of permits issued by foreign states and were then re-exported from Canada.

Table 2 shows the number of export permits and re-export certificates issued in 2017 by Canadian CITES permitting offices, which totalled 5,578 permits.

Table 2: CITES export permits and re-export certificates issued in Canadian CITES permitting offices in 2017
Canadian jurisdiction Department or Province Number of export permits and re-export certificates issued Share of total export permits and  re-export certificates issued (%)
Federal government Environment and Climate Change Canada 3 923 70.33
Federal government Fisheries and Oceans Canada 145 2.60
Provinces/Territories British Columbia 781 14.00
Provinces/Territories Ontario 455 8.16
Provinces/Territories New Brunswick 149 2.67
Provinces/Territories Yukon 109 1.95
Provinces/Territories Newfoundland and Labrador 16 0.29
Total -- 5,578 100

Each export permit or re-export certificate can authorize the export of multiple specimens or species and each species and their parts or derivatives is listed. In the case of export of biomedical samples, a permit could have hundreds of individual specimens listed (e.g. blood, serum, microscope slides, paraffin blocks, etc.). In other cases, there may be few specimens listed on the permit, but large quantities for each specimen (e.g. hundreds of Bobcat skins from a fur auction). As in past years, the most common mammal species listed on export and re-export permits include the American Black Bear, Crab-eating Macaque, Bobcat, Canadian Lynx, Wolf, Mountain Lion, North American Otter, Grizzly Bear and Polar Bear.

Every country that is Party to CITES is required to submit to the CITES Secretariat a detailed report of what was permitted by that country in a calendar year. It provides an in-depth view of all the specimens permitted by the country. This report is due on October 31st of the following year (e.g. the 2016 annual report was due on October 31, 2017, the 2017 annual report is due October 31, 2018). Based on the information submitted by Canada in the 2016 CITES annual report, the following quantities were exported or re-exported from Canada for the common mammal species mentioned in the previous paragraph:

  • 4,463 American black bear skins, mounts or garments
  • 14,393 Macaque samples
  • 22,592 Bobcat skins, mounts or garments
  • 8,459 Canadian Lynx skins, mounts or garments
  • 2,068 Wolf skins, mounts or garments
  • 231 Mountain lion skins, mounts or garments
  • 10,254 North American otter skins, mounts or garments
  • 162 Grizzly Bear skins, mounts or garments
  • 267 Polar Bear skins, mounts or garments

In 2017, Canada issued export permits and re-export certificates for the following purpose-of- transaction codes as defined in CITES Resolution 12.3Footnote 1 (totals in brackets): hunting trophies (2590), commercial (1277), personal use (1162), biomedical research (383), scientific research (75), and other purposes (91). Figure 1 shows the percentage of distribution, by purpose-of-transaction, of export permits and re-export certificates issued in 2017. Purpose-of-transactions for export and re-export permits are relatively constant from year-to-year.

Figure 1: Percentage of CITES export permits and re-export certificates issued in 2017, by purpose-of-transaction

Figure 1: Percentage of CITES export permits and re-export certificates issued in 2017, by purpose-of-transaction
* Other purposes include exhibitions (9), zoos (44), educational (48), breeding (49), law enforcement (42), botanical gardens (2) and reintroduction in the wild (17). They each account for such a small quantity that they are grouped and represented together.
Long description for figure 1
Figure 1 is a pie chart representing the percentage of CITES export permits and re-export certificates issued in 2017 for the following purposes: 46% for hunting trophies; 23% for commercial purposes; 21% for personal use; 7% for biomedical research; 1% for scientific research; and 2% for other uses, including exhibitions, zoos, educational, breeding, law enforcement, botanical gardens and reintroduction in the wild.
Table 3: Percentages of CITES export permits and re-export certificates issued by purpose-of-transaction from previous years (some numbers have been rounded)
Year Hunting trophies Personal use Scientific research Commercial purposes Biomedical research Other
2017 46 21 1 23 7 2
2016 54 14 1 20 8 2
2015 48 15 1 27 7 2
2014 43 16 1 32 6
2
2013 45 14 1 33 5 2
2012 39 16 2 37 4 2
2011 35 17 1 40 5 3
2010 36 19 1 37 3 3
Table 4 indicates the number of export permits issued in each of the past 4 calendar years for Polar Bears obtained in Canada from different harvest seasons. It is important to note that even if a permit for a specific Polar Bear is issued in a calendar year, the actual export may not take place for various reasons (e.g. permit expired before shipment could take place, cancelled shipment, changes from rug to full mount, etc). A permit could be reissued in subsequent years for a Polar Bear which was never actually exported under a previously issued permit.
Table 4: Number of CITES export permits issued per year for Polar Bears harvested in Canada and breakdown of the total number by the season* in which the bears were harvested
Year of export Total number of Polar Bears exported July 2016 to June 2017 July 2015 to June 2016 July 2014 to June 2015 July 2013 to June 2014 July 2012 to June 2013 July 2011 to June 2012 July 2010 to June 2011 July 2009 to June 2010 before July 2009
2017 215 45 79 29 24 16 9 7 0 6
2016 232 0 67 57 50 28 7 11 0 12
2015 292 0 0 50 87 88 27
20 7 13
2014 237 0 0 0 56 99 32 18 6 26

* Harvest season starts in July of one year and ends in June of following year. For example, harvest season 2012–2013 starts on July 1, 2012 and finishes on June 30, 2013.

2.2.2. Permits for multiple shipments

An export permit or re-export certificate may authorize multiple shipments of specimens that have been approved by the permitting office. The permit or certificate holder is responsible for identifying the destination, specific specimens and quantities that make up each shipment. This provides a simplified procedure for permit holders who trade in specimens with very little or no impact to the conservation of species. Of the 5,578 export permits and re-export certificates listed in Table 2, 611 were for multiple shipments, authorizing 37,927 shipments. By far, the largest share of multiple shipment permits was issued to growers and distributors of American Ginseng.

In Canada, the export of a small quantity of artificially propagated American Ginseng for personal use (up to 4.5 kg for personal use) is authorized through a simplified permitting procedure using ginseng stickers. Each shipment is accompanied by a permit sticker identifying the permit number under which the multiple shipments are authorized. Individual stickers accounted for 26,320 of the 37,927 shipments for ginseng authorized in 2017.

2.2.3. Imports into Canada

Canada issued 157 import permits in 2017 for the following purpose-of-transaction codes, as defined in CITES Resolution 12.3ootnote 1 (totals in brackets): personal use (55), commercial (40), hunting trophies (17), scientific research (10), zoos (14), exhibitions (5) and other purposes (16).

Figure 2 indicates the distribution, by purpose-of-transaction code, of CITES import permits issued in 2017. The imports for commercial purposes consists mainly of artificially propagated plants, pre-Convention specimens (e.g., antiques containing ivory) and captive-bred animals (e.g., falcons, parrots).

Figure 2: Percentage of CITES import permits issued in 2017, by purpose-of-transaction

Figure 2: Percentage of CITES import permits issued in 2016, by purpose-of-transaction
* Other purposes include exhibitions, zoos, educational, breeding, law enforcement and reintroduction in the wild. They each account for such a small quantity, that they are grouped and represented together.
Long description for figure 2
Figure 2 is a pie chart that presents the percentage of CITES import permits issued in 2017 for the following purposes: 35% for personal use; 26% for commercial purposes; 11% for hunting trophies; 9% for zoos; 6% for scientific research; 3% for exhibitions; and 10% for other uses including: educational, breeding, law enforcement and reintroduction in the wild. They each account for such a small quantity, that they are grouped and represented together;
Table 5 indicates the percentage of overall CITES import permits issued by purpose-of-transaction between 2010-2017.
Table 5: Percentage of CITES import permits issued by purpose-of-transaction from previous years
Year Hunting trophies Personal use Scientific research Commercial purposes Exhibitions Zoos Other
2017 11 35 6 26 3 9 10
2016 21 21 3 36 5 9 5
2015 21 19 3 35 4 13 5
2014 18 38 7 23 4 7 3
2013 11 30 7 25 9 15 3
2012 17 23 6 29 7 6 12
2011 16 27 4 32 8 8 5*
2010 13 14 8 37 8 10 10

*Includes breeding and propagation purposes

2.3. Other permits issued in 2017

Canada requires import permits (referred to as Injurious wildlife permits) for certain species that may pose a risk to Canadian ecosystems, but do not necessarily appear in the CITES appendices. These include raccoon dogs, mongooses, starlings, mynas and oxpeckers, as listed in Schedule II of the WAPTR.

New requirements for an import permit for salamanders were introduced in May 2017 for a one-year period, to protect Canadian salamanders and ecosystems from a devastating fungal disease while longer-term options were being explored.

In 2017, Canada issued one import permit for a coat made from raccoon dog fur, and four import permits to scientific institutions and zoos for live salamanders.

Raccoon dog Photo: © Getty Images

Raccoon dog
Photo: © Getty Images

2.4. Canada's trading partners

Canada’s major trading partners under CITES, particularly for exports, continue to be the United States, the member countries of the European Union, and the countries of East and Southeast Asia. The exports to the United States and the European Union cover a wide-range of specimens and species. In the case of Asia, particularly East and Southeast Asia, the species most commonly exported from Canada was cultivated American Ginseng, with these regions accounting for the majority of Canada’s foreign market for this species.

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