[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 97 (Friday, May 19, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26897-26899]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-12371]



[[Page 26897]]



Fish and Wildlife Service


Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) 
Notification; Recommendations From CITES Secretariat Regarding 
Prohibitions of Trade in Certain Animal Species From Several Countries

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Information No. 24.

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SUMMARY: This is a schedule III notice. This notice supersedes 
paragraph J of Notice of Information Number 23 published in the Federal 
Register on December 7, 1994 (59 FR 63101), and adds import 
restrictions to those addressed in Notice of Information Number 23. 
Wildlife subject to this notice is subject to detention, refusal of 
clearance or seizure, and forfeiture if imported into the United 
States. Violators may also be subject to criminal or civil prosecution.
    On January 20, 1995, the CITES Secretariat issued Notification to 
the Parties No. 833 urging Parties to suspend imports of certain animal 
species from the following twelve countries: Argentina, Azerbaijan, 
China, Indonesia, Latvia, Lithuania, Madagascar, Peru, Republic of 
Moldova, Solomon Islands, Ukraine, and the United Republic of Tanzania. 
That Notification superseded Notification to the Parties No. 800, which 
was implemented by the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) in Notice of 
Information 23. Several of the import suspensions in Notification to 
the Parties No. 833 were identical to Notification to the Parties No. 
800, three were in addition, and one suspension was removed. The 
restrictions on imports of Rana tigerina and Rana hexadactyla from 
India, announced in Notice of Information No. 23, paragraph D, continue 
in effect even though India is no longer addressed by the Standing 
Committee recommendations on significant trade in Appendix II species. 
The Secretariat has indicated that India prohibits the harvesting and 
export of these species. It recommends that the parties continue to 
prohibit the import of such species from India. This notice fully 
implements those changes.
    Notification was based on a decision made by the CITES Standing 
Committee during a meeting held in November, 1994, which asked CITES 
Party countries to suspend imports in certain animal species from the 
affected countries, and was in addition to decisions made by the 
Standing Committee in its meeting on April 21, 1994 (published in the 
Federal Register on December 7, 1994). All of these actions were 
authorized by CITES Resolution Conference 8.9, adopted at the Eighth 
Meeting of the Conference of the Parties in Kyoto, Japan, in 1992, 
which established a procedure for developing remedial actions and 
calling for implementation by party countries through import 
suspensions, if voluntary compliance by exporting countries is not 
satisfactory, and were strongly endorsed in discussions at the Ninth 
Meeting of the Conference of the Parties in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 
in November, 1994.

DATES: This notice is effective on May 19, 1995, and will be effective 
until further notice. The new import measures announced in this notice 
shall apply to shipments of wildlife which have a date of export 
fifteen (15) days after the effective date of this Notice. The import 
restrictions in Notice of Information No. 23, other than the one lifted 
herein, remain in effect.

ADDRESSES: Dr. Susan S. Lieberman, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
Office of Management Authority, 4401 N. Fairfax Dr., room 420C, 
Arlington, VA 22203, regarding Notifications to the Parties, or Frank 
S. Shoemaker Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Investigations, U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service, Division of Law Enforcement, 4401 N. Fairfax 
Drive., room 500, Arlington, VA 22203, for enforcement actions.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Susan S. Lieberman, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, Office of Management Authority, telephone (703)358-
2093, regarding Notifications to the Parties, or Frank S. Shoemaker 
Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Investigations, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, Division of Law Enforcement, telephone (703) 358-1949, for 
enforcement actions.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Article IV, paragraph 2(a) of the CITES 
treaty allows commercial and noncommercial trade in species listed in 
CITES Appendix II. Export permits for such trade may be issued only if 
a designated Management Authority of the country has determined that 
the specimens were legally acquired, and if a designated Scientific 
Authority of that country has advised the Management Authority that the 
export will not be detrimental to the survival of the species. Article 
IV, paragraph 3 goes on to require that exports of Appendix II species 
be limited in any way necessary to ensure that the population level of 
a species is consistent with that species' role in its ecosystem and 
that the population level of that species be maintained well above the 
level where it might qualify for inclusion in Appendix I.
    Over the past decade, the CITES party countries have become 
increasingly concerned that certain Appendix II species are subject to 
particularly high volumes of trade without sufficient biological data 
for Scientific Authorities to make the necessary judgments that exports 
are not detrimental to the species, as required by Article IV. In 1983, 
CITES parties adopted a resolution at the Fourth Conference of the 
Parties in Gaborone, Botswana, acknowledging that many parties are not 
effectively implementing Article IV and thus risk losing the benefits 
of continued availability of these resources. This resolution, Conf. 
4.7, established a project to identify Appendix II species involved in 
significant levels of international trade, and to develop and negotiate 
with exporting and importing countries whatever measures were necessary 
to bring trade down to levels consistent with Article IV.
    In 1987, at the Sixth Conference of the Parties in Ottawa, Canada, 
parties charged the newly established CITES Animals Committee with the 
task of establishing a list of Appendix II species being significantly 
affected by trade, reviewing all available information, and formulating 
remedial measures for these species. The CITES Secretariat coordinated 
or contracted for studies to develop lists of mammal, bird, and reptile 
species and collect relevant information about these species, in 
cooperation with the World Conservation Union (formerly the 
International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural 
Resources). The Service cooperated with and provided financial support 
for a number of these studies.
    At the Eighth Conference of the Parties in 1992, in Kyoto, Japan, 
CITES parties adopted a resolution developed by the CITES Animals 
Committee which recognized that substantial trade in wild-caught 
animals was still going on contrary to the provisions of Article IV, 
and that necessary remedial measures were not being properly 
implemented. This resolution, Conf. 8.9, established a formal process 
for the Animals Committee to develop remedial measures, including 
``zero quotas'' (that is, temporary trade bans) when appropriate; for 
the Secretariat to communicate these recommendations to the exporting 
countries; and, where exporting countries do not satisfactorily 
implement the measures, for the CITES Standing Committee to call on 
parties to suspend imports of these species from the offending 
countries until they are in compliance. All of these actions were 
strongly endorsed in committee and [[Page 26898]] plenary discussions 
at the Ninth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties in Fort 
Lauderdale, Florida, in November, 1994.
    During meetings of the Animals Committee between the Eighth and 
Ninth Meetings of the Conference of the Parties, attended by 
representatives of the Service, remedial measures were developed and 
subsequently communicated to exporting countries by the Secretariat. 
The Standing Committee reviewed reports from the Secretariat of 
compliance and noncompliance with these remedial measures during three 
meetings in 1993 and 1994. The Service represented the United States in 
these meetings, with the Department of State. During the Standing 
Committee meetings in Geneva, Switzerland, in March, 1994, and Fort 
Lauderdale, Florida, in November, 1994, the Standing Committee directed 
the Secretariat to issue a formal notice calling for a suspension of 
trade in particular Appendix II species from certain CITES parties.
    Accordingly, on April 21, 1994, the Secretariat issued Notification 
to the Parties number 800, calling for a suspension of imports of 
certain species from twelve countries. Implementation of these 
restrictions was necessary to stop trade considered to be detrimental 
to the survival of the species and thus in contravention of the 
requirements of CITES Article IV. CITES parties failing to implement 
these trade suspensions would be contributing to the decline of the 
affected species, and would be subject to formal citation in the CITES 
Infractions Report and possible censure by the CITES Conference of the 
Parties.
    Pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531-
1544), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is granted the authority to 
detain, refuse clearance of, or seize any fish or wildlife or plants 
that are imported into the United States in violation of CITES. 
Regulations contained in 50 CFR 14.53(c) indicate that refusal of 
clearance of imported wildlife is warranted if there are reasonable 
grounds to believe that documentation for the clearance of such 
wildlife is not valid. Similarly, regulations contained in 50 CFR 
23.12(a)(2) require that all imports of Appendix II wildlife into the 
United States be accompanied by a valid foreign export permit or re-
export certificate, unless an exemption applies. The Service agrees 
with Notification to the Parties numbers 800 and 833 and believes that 
any permits issued for the indicated species by the affected countries 
are not valid because required findings of ``non-detriment'' and/or 
lawful acquisition have not been credibly demonstrated by the exporting 
countries in light of the significant trade level in particular 
Appendix II species.
    Notification to the Parties number 833 incorporates all of the 
recommendations of Notification to the Parties number 800, with the 
following changes: (1) The trade suspension for ball pythons from Togo 
is lifted; (2) the trade suspension for the United Republic of Tanzania 
is amended to include six additional species; (3) a trade suspension is 
implemented for several species from Madagascar; and (4) a trade 
suspension is implemented for two butterfly species from Solomon 
Islands.
    The subjects of this notice are as follows:

A. Subject

    Togo: ban on imports of specimens of ball python (Python regius).
Source of Foreign Law Information

    CITES Secretariat Notification to the Parties No. 833, issued on 
January 20, 1995, calls on Parties to lift the suspension of imports of 
Python regius specimens from Togo.

Action by the Fish and Wildlife Service

    Since the publication of Notice of Information No. 23 (59 FR 
63101), the Secretariat has received information from the Management 
Authority of Togo relating to its implementation of the recommendations 
of the Animals Committee on significant levels of trade in Python 
regius. The Secretariat is satisfied that Togo has initiated the action 
necessary to implement these recommendations. Therefore, the Standing 
Committee's recommendation to the Parties to suspend imports of 
specimens of Python regius is hereby withdrawn, and shipments of 
specimens of Python regius may be imported into the United States, 
directly or indirectly, from Togo, as long as all applicable CITES 
requirements and Service import requirements are met.

B. Subject

    United Republic of Tanzania: ban on imports of specimens of Brown-
headed Parrot (Poicephalus cryptoxanthus), Brown Parrot (Poicephalus 
meyeri), Red-bellied Parrot (Poicephalus rufiventris), Fischer's Turaco 
(Tauraco fischeri), Leopard tortoise (Geochelone pardalis), and Sand 
boa (Eryx colubrinus).

This is a Schedule III Notice

    Wildlife subject to this notice is subject to detention, refusal of 
clearance, or seizure and forfeiture if imported into the United 
States.

Source of Foreign Law Information

    CITES Secretariat Notification to the Parties No. 833, issued on 
January 20, 1995, calls on Parties to suspend imports of Brown-headed 
Parrot (Poicephalus cryptoxanthus), Brown Parrot (Poicephalus meyeri), 
Red-bellied Parrot (Poicephalus rufiventris), Fischer's Turaco (Tauraco 
fischeri), Leopard tortoise (Geochelone pardalis), and Sand boa (Eryx 
colubrinus) specimens from the United Republic of Tanzania.

Action by the Fish and Wildlife Service

    Based on information received, the United Republic of Tanzania has 
not satisfactorily implemented the recommendations of the CITES 
Standing Committee. Specifically, the Management Authority of the 
United Republic of Tanzania must advise the CITES Secretariat of the 
following: The biological basis for determining that exports of 
specimens of Poicephalus cryptoxanthus, Poicephalus meyeri, Poicephalus 
rufiventris, Geochelone pardalis, and Eryx colubrinus will not be 
detrimental to the survival of the species; the establishment and level 
of an annual export quota for Tauraco fischeri; the legal protection 
status of Geochelone pardalis; and the status of wild populations of 
Eryx colubrinus in the United Republic of Tanzania. Therefore, in 
accordance with the responsibility of the United States under CITES, 
and effective immediately and until further notice from the U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service, no shipments of specimens of Brown-headed Parrot 
(Poicephalus cryptoxanthus), Brown Parrot (Poicephalus meyeri), Red-
bellied Parrot (Poicephalus rufiventris), Fischer's Turaco (Tauraco 
fischeri), Leopard tortoise (Geochelone pardalis), and Sand boa (Eryx 
colubrinus) may be imported into the United States, directly or 
indirectly, from the United Republic of Tanzania, unless an exemption 
in CITES Article VII applies. This is in addition to the import 
prohibitions of Notice of Information No. 23, paragraph L, (59 FR 
63101, 63104-05). Furthermore, the Wild Bird Conservation Act of 1992 
already prohibits the importation of specimens of Brown-headed Parrot 
(Poicephalus cryptoxanthus), Brown Parrot (Poicephalus meyeri), Red-
bellied Parrot (Poicephalus rufiventris), and Fischer's Turaco (Tauraco 
fischeri) without the required permits being issued by the Service.

C. Subject

    Madagascar: ban on imports of specimens of Vasa Parrot (Coracopsis 
[[Page 26899]] vasa), Chameleons (Chamaeleo spp.)(except Chamaeleo 
lateralis, Chamaeleo oustaleti, Chamaeleo pardalis and Chamaeleo 
verrucosus), and Day geckos (Phelsuma spp.)(except Phelsuma laticauda, 
Phelsuma lineata, Phelsuma madagascariensis, and Phelsuma 
quadriocellata).

This is a Schedule III Notice

    Wildlife subject to this notice is subject to detention, refusal of 
clearance or seizure, and forfeiture if imported into the United 
States.

Source of Foreign Law Information

    CITES Secretariat Notification to the Parties No. 833, issued on 
January 20, 1995, calls on Parties to suspend imports of Vasa Parrot 
(Coracopsis vasa), Chameleons (Chamaeleo sp.)(except Chamaeleo 
lateralis, Chamaeleo oustaleti, Chamaeleo pardalis and Chamaeleo 
verrucosus), and Day geckos (Phelsuma sp.)(except Phelsuma laticauda, 
Phelsuma lineata, Phelsuma madagascariensis, and Phelsuma 
quadriocellata) specimens from Madagascar.
Action by the Fish and Wildlife Service

    Based on information received, Madagascar has not satisfactorily 
implemented the recommendations of the CITES Standing Committee. 
Specifically, the Management Authority of Madagascar must advise the 
CITES Secretariat of the following: The biological basis for 
determining that exports of Coracopsis vasa, Chamaeleo sp. (except 
Chamaeleo lateralis, Chamaeleo oustaleti, Chamaeleo pardalis, and 
Chamaeleo verrucosus), and Phelsuma sp. (except Phelsuma laticauda, 
Phelsuma lineata, Phelsuma madagascariensis, and Phelsuma 
quadriocellata) will not be detrimental to the survival of the species; 
the suspension of exports of Chamaeleo sp. and Phelsuma sp. (except 
those species previously indicated) pending the establishment of 
scientifically-based sustainable harvest quotas; evidence that CITES 
implementation is improving by regular submission of copies of export 
permits issued; evidence to indicate that export permits will only be 
issued that indicate the species involved in a given consignment; and 
evidence to confirm the implementation of a system to verify the 
identification of specimens of Chamaeleo sp. and Phelsuma sp. in 
consignments before they are exported. Therefore, in accordance with 
the responsibility of the United States under CITES, and effective 
immediately and until further notice from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, no shipments of specimens of Vasa Parrot (Coracopsis vasa), 
Chameleons (Chamaeleo sp.)(except Chamaeleo lateralis, Chamaeleo 
oustaleti, Chamaeleo pardalis and Chamaeleo verrucosus), and Day geckos 
(Phelsuma spp.)(except Phelsuma laticauda, Phelsuma lineata, Phelsuma 
madagascariensis, and Phelsuma quadriocellata) may be imported into the 
United States, directly or indirectly, from Madagascar, unless an 
exemption in CITES Article VII applies. In addition, the Wild Bird 
Conservation Act of 1992 already prohibits the importation of specimens 
of Vasa Parrot (Coracopsis vasa) without the required permits being 
issued by the Service.

D. Subject

    Solomon Islands: ban on imports of specimens of Bird Wing 
Butterflies (Ornithoptera urvillianus) and (Ornithoptera victoriae)

This is a Schedule III Notice

    Wildlife subject to this notice is subject to detention, refusal of 
clearance or seizure, and forfeiture if imported into the United 
States.

Source of Foreign Law Information

    CITES Secretariat Notification to the Parties No. 833, issued on 
January 20, 1995, calls on Parties to suspend imports of Bird Wing 
Butterfly (Ornithoptera urvillianus) and (Ornithoptera victoriae) 
specimens from the Solomon Islands.

Action by the Fish and Wildlife Service

    Based on information received, the Solomon Islands has not 
satisfactorily implemented the recommendations of the CITES Standing 
Committee. Specifically, the Management Authority of the Solomon 
Islands must advise the CITES Secretariat of the following: the 
biological basis for determining that exports of Ornithoptera 
urvillianus and Ornithoptera victoriae will not be detrimental to the 
survival of the species. Therefore, in accordance with the 
responsibility of the United States under CITES, and effective 
immediately and until further notice from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, no shipments of specimens of Bird Wing Butterflies 
(Ornithoptera urvillianus) and (Ornithoptera victoriae) may be imported 
into the United States, directly or indirectly, from the Solomon 
Islands, unless an exemption in CITES Article VII applies.

    Dated: May 15, 1995.
George T. Frampton,
Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks.
[FR Doc. 95-12371 Filed 5-18-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P