EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 84/153

(2004/C 84 E/0191)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0038/04

by Juan Izquierdo Collado (PSE) to the Commission

(12 January 2004)

Subject: Illegal imports of dolphins

In 2001 the Portuguese Government, pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 (1) on CITES, banned imports of dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) caught in their natural environment. Spain is currently the only country which allows dolphins to be imported (from Cuba), and once they have been brought into Spain they can be freely moved around the rest of the European Union. Lisbon Zoo has applied to the Portuguese authorities for permits in order to enable it to purchase dolphins from the Oceanográfico in Valencia — dolphins which are brought in from Cuba and which may not be imported directly into Portugal.

When are the EU Member States going to implement coordinated policies in this area, in order to prevent Spain from becoming the gateway to Europe for species which may not be traded in the other EU countries?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(5 February 2004)

The Commission does not accept that there is a lack of co-ordination with regard to wildlife trade policies or that Spain is a gateway for species rejected by other Member States. The provisions in place in Spain are no less strict than in any of the other Member States. With regard to trade in endangered species of flora and fauna, all Member States are bound by the provisions of Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 of 9 December 1997, on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein (2). This Regulation is intended to ensure a common implementation of CITES among the Member States and the perceived lapse in this case is not due to any flaw in its provisions.

Bottle-nosed dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) are listed on Annex A of the Regulation. This means that import of wild dolphins is allowed only if the purpose is primarily non-commercial — breeding, education or research, for example. Even then, it must be established that the import will not have a detrimental effect on the conservation status of the species and — in the case of live animals — that the intended accommodation is adequate. Movement of the animal to another Member State is only allowed when the latter Member State has also verified that the intended use is non-commercial and that the accommodation is adequate.

In this case, if Portugal rejected the import application on the grounds that the intended use was commercial or that the intended accommodation for the specimen was inadequate, then these considerations still apply if the animal is transferred from Spain. If Portugal had wished to prevent the transfer on these grounds, this lay within its powers under the system.

Where a Member State prohibits an import on the grounds that it will have a detrimental conservation effect, they are obliged to inform the Commission who, in turn, brings the decision to the attention of the Scientific Review Group convened under Article 17 of the Regulation where this decision is either confirmed or reversed on the basis of the collective expert opinion of the Member States. In the present case, the Commission was not informed of any decision by Portugal to reject an import application for bottle-nosed dolphins from Cuba on these grounds. As a result, Spain was left free to make its own judgement on this issue.

(1) OJ L 61, 3.3.1997, p. 1.

(2) As last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1497/2003 of 18 August 2003, OJ L 215, 27.8.2003.