Wild animal and plant trade and protection act 2018 annual report: chapter 2
2. Management of wild animals and plants in trade
2.1. Permitting overview
2.1.1. Requirement
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); Schedule I of the Wild Animal and Plant Trade Regulations (WAPTR) includes all CITES-listed species.
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
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, which are listed on Schedule II of WAPTR.
Table 1 describes the various types of CITES permits and certificates that are issued in Canada.
| 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 (for example, 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 (for example, 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. |
2.1.2. Exemptions
WAPPRIITA authorizes exemptions, in specific situations, for the import and export of CITES‑listed species without permits. WAPTR specifies four exemptions: 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.
Canadian threatened or endangered species listed on Schedule III of the WAPTR are not included in these exemptions and require all necessary CITES permits.
2.1.3. Issuance and monitoring of Canadian permits and certificates under WAPPRIITA
Service standards
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.
April 2018 to March 2019
ECCC met the performance targets for Polar Bear and all other CITES permit categories except for the hunting trophies category. The performance target set for hunting trophies is 90% of permits issued within 21 calendar days; ECCC issued 82% of permits within that timeframe. The Department’s performance against these standards is published online.
The performance target for WAPTR injurious wildlife permits decisions is set at 90% of permits issued within 70 calendar days; ECCC reached 89% of permits issued within that timeframe. The Department’s performance against these standards is published online.
2.2. CITES permits issued in 2018
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 2018 by Canadian CITES permitting offices, which totalled 5,512.
| 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 | 3,810 | 69.12% |
| Federal government | Fisheries and Oceans Canada | 178 | 3.23% |
| Provinces/Territories | British Columbia | 846 | 15.35% |
| Provinces/Territories | Ontario | 442 | 8.02% |
| Provinces/Territories | New Brunswick | 133 | 2.41% |
| Provinces/Territories | Yukon | 103 | 1.87% |
| Total | -- | 5,512 | 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, for example, a permit could have hundreds of individual specimens listed (for example, blood, serum, microscope slides, paraffin blocks). In other cases, there may be few specimens listed on the permit, but large quantities for each specimen (for example, hundreds of Bobcat skins from a fur auction). As in past years, the most common animal species listed on export and re-export permits in 2018 include:
- American Black Bear
- Bobcat
- Canadian Lynx
- Crab-eating Macaque
- Grizzly Bear
- Mountain Lion
- Narwhal
- North American Otter
- Polar Bear
- Wolf
Canada also re-exported an important number of items made with rosewood, such as musical instruments and woodworking tools. Canada is the largest exporter of American Ginseng, which is grown in Ontario.
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. This report is due on October 31st of the following year (for example, the 2017 annual report was due on October 31, 2018 and the 2018 annual report is due October 31, 2019).
Figure 1 shows the number of exports or re-exports reported in the Canada 2017 CITES annual report submitted in October 2018.
Figure 1: Number of exports or re-exports listed in the Canada 2017 CITES annual report
Note: The ECCC 2017 annual report submitted to CITES reported 3,214,798 kg of American Ginseng.
Long description for figure 1
Figure 1 shows a graphic of the number of exports or re-exports listed in the Canada 2017 CITES annual report:
- 200 Mountain Lion skins, mounts or garments
- 206 Grizzly Bear skins, mounts or garments
- 215 Polar Bear skins, mounts or garments
- 318 Narwahl tusks
- 2,088 Wolf skins, mounts or garments
- 3,206 American Black Bear skins, mounts or garments
- 8,496 Canadian Lynx skins, mounts or garments
- 17,140 Macaque samples
- 18,495 North American Otter skins, mounts or garments
- 20,998 Bobcat skins, mounts or garments
- 30,194 Musical instruments or parts made with rosewood (guitars, clarinets, bagpipes, etc.)
- 39,034 Woodworking tools made with rosewood
In 2018, Canada issued export permits and re-export certificates for the following purpose of transaction codes as defined in CITES Resolution 12.3Footnote 2 .
- Hunting trophies
- Personal use
- Scientific research
- Commercial purposes
- Biomedical research
- Other
Figure 2 shows the percentage of distribution, by purpose of transaction, of export permits and re-export certificates issued in 2018.
Figure 2: Percentage of CITES export permits and re-export certificates issued in 2018, by purpose of transaction
Note: Purpose of transactions for export and re-export permits are relatively constant from year to year.
*Includes exhibitions (18), zoos (36), educational (6), breeding (26), law enforcement (9), botanical gardens (0) and reintroduction in the wild (14). 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 export permits and re-export certificates issued in 2018, by purpose of transaction: 46 percent for hunting trophies (2,542); 23 percent for commercial purposes (1,258); 21 percent for personal use (1,108); 7 percent (440); 2 percent for other (109); 1 percent for scientific research (55).
Figure 3 shows the percentage of distribution, by purpose of transaction, of export permits and re-export certificates issued between 2010 and 2018.
Figure 3: Percentages of CITES export permits and re-export certificates issued in previous years, by purpose of transaction (some numbers have been rounded)
Long description for figure 3
| Year | Hunting trophies | Personal use | Scientific research | Commercial purposes | Biomedical research | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 46 | 20 | 1 | 23 | 8 | 2 |
| 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 3 indicates the number of export permits issued in each of the post five calendar years of Polar Bears harvested in Canada for each season.
| Year of export | Total export permits issued | 2018 to 2019b | 2017 to 2018b | 2016 to 2017b | 2015 to 2016b | 2014 to 2015b | 2013 to 2014b | 2012 to 2013b | 2011 to 2012b | 2010 to 2011b | 2009 to 2010b | Prior to July 2009b |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 206 | 1 | 57 | 40 | 45 | 27 | 18 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 2017 | 215 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 79 | 29 | 24 | 16 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 6 |
| 2016 | 232 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 57 | 50 | 28 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 12 |
| 2015 | 292 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 87 | 88 | 27 | 20 | 7 | 13 |
| 2014 | 237 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 56 | 99 | 32 | 18 | 6 | 26 |
Note: 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 (for example, 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.
aHarvest season is counted from July to June of following year. For example, harvest season 2018-2019 started on July 1, 2018, and finished on June 30, 2019.
bNumber of Polar Bears by harvest season.
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 5,512 export permits and re-export certificates listed in Table 2, there were 755 for multiple shipments, authorizing 47,959 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) is authorized through a simplified permitting procedure using ginseng stickers. A permit sticker identifying the permit number under which the multiple shipments are authorized accompanies each shipment. Individual stickers accounted for 39,217 of the 41,230 shipments for ginseng authorized in 2018.
2.2.3. Imports into Canada
Figure 4 indicates the distribution, by purpose of transaction code, of CITES import permits issued in 2018.
Figure 4: Percentage of CITES import permits issued in 2018, by purpose of transaction
Note: The imports for commercial purposes consists mainly of artificially propagated plants, pre-Convention specimens (for example, antiques containing ivory) and captive-bred animals (for example, falcons, parrots).
*Includes breeding, law enforcement and propagation purposes.
Long description for figure 4
Figure 4 is a pie chart that presents the percentage of CITES import permits issued in 2018, by purpose of transaction: 26 percent for commercial purposes; 25 percent for personal use; 15 percent for zoos; 13 percent for hunting trophies; 11 percent for other; 5 percent for scientific research; 5 percent for exhibitions.
Figure 5 indicates the percentage of overall CITES import permits issued between 2010 and 2018, by purpose of transaction.
Figure 5: Percentage of CITES import permits issued from 2010 to 2018, by purpose of transaction
*Includes breeding, law enforcement and propagation purposes.
Long description for figure 5
This graph chart presents the percentage of CITES import permits issued from 2010 to 2018, by purpose of transaction: In 2018, 13 percent of permits were for hunting trophies, 26 percent were for commercial use, 25 percent were for personal use, 5 percent were for scientific research, 5 percent were for exhibits, 15 percent were for zoos and 11 percent were for other; in 2017, 11 percent of permits were for hunting trophies, 26 percent were for commercial use, 35 percent were for personal use, 6 percent were for scientific research, 3 percent were for exhibits, 9 percent were for zoos and 10 percent were for other; in 2016, 21 percent of permits were for hunting trophies, 36 percent were for commercial use, 21 percent were for personal use, 3 percent were for scientific research, 5 percent were for exhibits, 9 percent were for zoos and 5 percent were for other; in 2015, 21 percent of permits were for hunting trophies, 35 percent were for commercial use, 19 percent were for personal use, 3 percent were for scientific research, 4 percent were for exhibits, 13 percent were for zoos and 5 percent were for other; in 2014, 18 percent of permits were for hunting trophies, 23 percent were for commercial use, 38 percent were for personal use, 7 percent were for scientific research, 4 percent were for exhibits, 7 percent were for zoos and 3 percent were for other; in 2013, 11 percent of permits were for hunting trophies, 25 percent were for commercial use, 30 percent were for personal use, 7 percent were for scientific research, 9 percent were for exhibits, 15 percent were for zoos and 3 percent were for other; in 2012, 17 percent of permits were for hunting trophies, 29 percent were for commercial use, 23 percent were for personal use, 6 percent were for scientific research, 7 percent were for exhibits, 6 percent were for zoos and 12 percent were for other; in 2011, 16 percent of permits were for hunting trophies, 32 percent were for commercial use, 27 percent were for personal use, 4 percent were for scientific research, 8 percent were for exhibits, 8 percent were for zoos and 5 percent were for other; in 2010, 13 percent of permits were for hunting trophies, 37 percent were for commercial use, 14 percent were for personal use, 8 percent were for scientific research, 8 percent were for exhibits, 10 percent were for zoos and 10 percent were for other.
2.2.4. Specialized CITES certificates
As indicated in Table 1, there are many types of permits and certificates issued in Canada under WAPPRIITA. The specialized CITES certificate allows movement of CITES-listed specimens in specialized scenarios. There are three types of specialized certificates:
- Certificate of Ownership – allows owners of CITES-listed pets to travel with their pets across international borders.
- Temporary Movement Certificate – allows travel outside of Canada with items made from CITES-listed species, such as musicians and their instruments (for example, bagpipes with ivory) or exhibits from museums and art galleries.
- Scientific Certificate – used by Canadian CITES-registered institutions to exchange specimens with CITES-registered institutions in another country. This facilitates the movement of scientific samples for research and cataloguing.
While, these specialized certificates represent a modest number of permits issued each year, they serve a very important function by facilitating the movement of specimens of CITES-listed species in low-risk situations.
Table 4 shows the number of certificates issued by type from 2010 to 2018.
| Year | Certificate of Ownership | Temporary Movement Certificate | Scientific Certificate | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 49 | 37 | 7 | 93 |
| 2017 | 65 | 41 | 11 | 117 |
| 2016 | 104 | 40 | 1 | 145 |
| 2015 | 68 | 27 | 5 | 100 |
| 2014 | 68 | 45 | 13 | 126 |
| 2013 | 88 | 33 | 5 | 126 |
| 2012 | 74 | 25 | No data | 99 |
| 2011 | 62 | 4 | 4 | 70 |
| 2010 | 82 | 13 | No data | 95 |
2.3. Other permits issued
Canada requires import permits for certain species that may pose a risk to Canadian ecosystems, but do not necessarily appear in the CITES appendices (referred to as injurious wildlife permits). These species are listed in Schedule II of WAPTR and include Raccoon Dogs, Mongooses, Starlings, Mynas and Oxpeckers. Schedule II of WAPTR was amended in May 2018 to include all species under the order Caudata (includes salamanders, newts and mudpuppies) on an indeterminate basis, to continue the protection which was initiated in May 2017 to protect Canadian Salamanders and ecosystems from a devastating fungal disease. A disease-causing fungus called Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal), has been devastating salamander populations in Europe. It is suspected that the fungus spread from Asia via the pet trade. Wild Salamanders play a vital role in Canada's ecosystems as part of the food web and in nutrient and carbon cycling. If the fungus enters Canadian ecosystems, the impacts on our native Salamanders will likely be severe. Canada is now prohibiting, on an indeterminate basis, the import of all species of the order Caudata unless accompanied by a permit. This import restriction includes living or dead specimens (or any other parts or derivatives of species of the order Caudata) as well as any of their:
- eggs
- sperm
- tissue culture
- embryos
Injurious wildlife permits are typically issued in two scenarios: import of live Salamanders for zoos and scientific institutions; and import of fur products or garments made of Raccoon Dogs.
Table 5 shows the number of other permits issued from 2017 to 2018.
| Year | Live animals (Salamanders) | Garments | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| 2017 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
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. 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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