. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/N/NLD/85 
27 May 2011  
 (11-2679) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   English 
  
 
NOTIFICATION 
 
The following notification is being circ ulated in accordance with Article 10.6 
 
1. Notifying Member:  NETHERLANDS
  
If applicable, name of local governme nt involved (Article 3.2 and 7.2):     
2. Agency responsible:  Ministry of Economic Affair s, Agriculture and Innovation 
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, email and website 
addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comments regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above :   
National Enquiry Point - EC WTO TBT Enquiry Point 
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [ X ], 2.10.1 [   ], 5.6.2 [   ], 5.7.1 [   ], other:   
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading. 
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):   
Individuals of the squirrel species: 
- fox squirrel (Sciurus niger);  
- grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis);  
- Pallas's squirrel (Callosciurus erythraeus). 
5. Title, number of pages and langu age(s) of the notified document:  Draft decree amending 
the Decree concerning designation of Animal a nd Plant species under the Wildlife Protection 
Act (Besluit aanwijzing dier- en plantensoorten Flora- en faunawet) with respect to the 
designation of squirrel species as species pursu ant to Article 14, third paragraph, of the 
Wildlife Protection Act [Flora- en faunawet] (Prohibition on possession and trade of exotic 
squirrel species).     
6. Description of content:  The proposal comprises a prohibition on possessing, transporting 
into or out of Dutch territory, requesting fo r sale, buying or otherw ise acquiring, having 
available or in stock for purposes of sale, selli ng or offering for sale, transporting, offering or 
delivering for transport, using for commercial ga in, renting or letting, bartering or offering for 
barter, any individuals of the specified three exot ic squirrel species.  This prohibition shall be 
cited hereinafter as the "possession and trade ban".  The squirrel species concerned are the (American) fox squirrel, the grey squirrel and the Pallas's s quirrel.  These species are invasive 
alien species, and would constitute a threat to the red squirrel, which is endemic and has 
protected status in the Netherlands, if they were to become established in nature in the 
Netherlands.  G/TBT/N/NLD/85 
Page 2  
 
  7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where applicable:   
1. Necessary  
The Netherlands has undertaken to protect endemic biodiversity and to prevent the 
introduction of non-endemic species into its natural environment (Convention on biological 
diversity (Rio de Janeiro, 1 992);  Convention on the conservation of European Wildlife and 
Natural Habitats (Bern, 1979)).  The fox squirrel, grey squirrel and Pallas' squirrel are exotic 
species which are considered to be invasive al iens in the Netherlands.  These species would 
constitute a serious threat to the red squirrel, which is endemic and has protected status, if 
they were to become established in the natural environment.  This threat is caused mainly by 
the fact that the aforementioned species compete with the red squirrel for food, and if they 
became established would be likely to supplant the endemic red squirrel in its territory since it 
is weaker and smaller.  It has further b een found that the grey squirrel may carry a 
parasmallpox virus, which is ha rmless to its host but fatal fo r red squirrels.  Based on the 
above obligations, the Dutch government has de cided that the prohibition is necessary to 
protect the endemic red squirrel. 
2. Non-discriminatory  
This is a general prohibition which applies wit hout distinction.  The exemption for private 
owners is not relevant to trad e.  This exemption merely allows existing owners to keep the 
squirrels they already owned before the prohibiti on came into effect.  These owners will also 
be prohibited from trading their animals or to ta ke them into or out of the Netherlands.  
3. Proportionality  
Experience in other countries with this invasi ve species has shown that prevention by means 
of a possession and trade ban is the most effici ent manner of avoiding any problems with this 
species.  The exemption for private owners ha s been introduced for reasons of proportionality. 
Owners would otherwise be disproportionately affected by this preventive measure.  The 
animals owned by them could however still pose a risk in case of escape.  This risk is 
eliminated by the requirement to make the animals identifiable and to sterilise them.  
8. Relevant documents:   -   
9. Proposed date of adoption:   
Proposed date of entry into force:    1 September 2011   
1 March 2012   
10. Final date for comments:  29 July 2011 
11. Text available from: National enquiry point [X], or address, telephone and fax numbers, 
e-mail and web-site addresses, if available of the other body:    
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/tbt/