Trade

We welcome new trade opportunities. If you breed exotic birds in captivity according to CITES standards then let us please know what you have, we constantly want to buy new birds to enhance our stock.

The conditions vary from country to country however there is a basis for most countries signed a worldwide common agreement about cooperation, protection and trade with endangered species: CITES (The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). Its aim is to ensure that international trade of specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

CITES classifies and registers species according to how endangered they are in so called Appendix I (most endangered), Appendix II and Appendix III (least endangered). In short referred to as CITES I, II and III. Obviously Appendix I specimens are highly endangered and usually protected by local laws by every government.

Most of our own Bird specimens are of Appendix I classification.

For trade we first of all need to know the local country Authority which issues import and export certificates as well as permits if necessary. A big country like the USA or a common market like the European Union have trade advantages because of the huge size of their internal markets.

You can easily find out which is your local national country authority by serarching here: http://www.cites.org/common/directy/e_directy.html (CITES.ORG webpage, Discover CITES > Member Countries > National contacts and information)

Trading in CITES Appendix I in the European Union

Buying a bird bred in captivity with CITES I classification.

All countries in the European Union have the same conditions for import and export trade. What differs is that each EU country has a different local authority in charge of CITES.

1. Buying & selling inside the EU

Trade between citizens or companies inside the E.U. is very simple.

Needed documents:

1. Hatching certificate
2. Veterinary certificate

EU Buyer: registers the bird with local CITES country authority

EU Seller: cancels bird's registration with local CITES country authority

What trade concerns there are no frontiers inside the European common market area.

2. Buying & selling from outside the EU

This step is a bit more complicated and regulated.

To import from other CITES signature countries we need an import permit issued by our main CITES country authorities (not a regional office).

It is however pretty straightforward to obtain such a permit.

Every citizen can buy captive bred birds.

• Ideally those where the certificate says in column SOURCE Annex "C" - animals bred in captivity for non-commercial purposes.
• Not allowed are birds with Annex "U" - Unknown and "W" - taken from the wild.
• All other classifications (R, D, F0, F1, F2) need to be checked individually when applying for an import permit.

Some countries - like for example the USA - have pre-requisites, to issue an export permit they require to first see a import permit which must be issued by the import country.

When we find a bird we wish to buy:

1. We first of all need to see a copy of the CITES certificate issued by CITES (by fax or email)
   • e.g. in Brazil - IBAMA
   • in the USA - the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
     • All informations about export:
       http://www.fws.gov/le/ImpExp/Info_Importers_Exporters.htm
     • Application form: http://www.fws.gov/forms/3-200-24.pdf
2. With this document we approach our local CITES authorities and either obtain an import permit or not.
   • If not then we will be informed as to why not.
   • Sometimes some countries or regions are blocked for different reasons (disease, political reasons, etc.) All this can be double checked on the official EU policy pages.*
3. After obtaining the import permit we can engage in detailed trade negotiation.
4. We organize the transport (which incidentally is often the biggest obstacle)

* Currently our EU CITES authorities are not blocking imports of birds bred in captivity from any country, they restrict quantities (5 birds per person) but do not block. Also there are currently no known veterinarian reasons to block. (Source: Slovak Ministry of Environment)

Taxes & Tariffs

Slovakia (European Union), import of exotic birds

Custom tariff: 0%

VAT: 19%

If you are a citizen of any country outside of the E.U. and you want to buy or sell an exotic bird, you have to contact your local CITES Authority. They will inform you about permit conditions and associated paperwork.

If you have questions don’t hesitate to contact us.