PAC And AACC Take In The 'CITES' By C. Holoboff                                          April 2000

The Parrot Association of Canada and the Avicultural Advancement Council of Canada have taken an historic first step in implementing their joint association. George Rason, President of PAC, Dunstan Browne, President of AACC, and Chris Holoboff, Joint Director of both, attended the CITES Public Consultation Meeting in Ottawa on March 10, where they represented the interests of aviculturists across Canada.

A second session to complete the consultation process was held in Toronto on March 27 and Chris also attended that meeting on behalf of PAC and AACC.

This was an important first for PAC since it is now a recognized representative and will be invited to future meetings and will receive notice of CITES proceedings. AACC has been an accredited observer to CITES for many years and has sent a delegate to the international conference on several occasions.

George presented a proposal for a permit exemption for blood samples from endangered species for DNA testing and diagnostic purposes so that they can be sent to laboratories in the United States. As anyone who has applied for these permits knows, the process takes several months and reams of paperwork. George was pleased to receive the support of the Canadian representative who deals with this and who assured him that this exact issue is being considered by the Government.

The Ottawa meeting was organized by the Canadian delegation to CITES to provide the public and interested groups with an opportunity to consult with the Government on proposals for the categorization of various species. Approximately 30 people attended the meeting and PAC and AACC were able to sit down at the table with the actual delegates who are formulating the Canadian position and who will be attending the convention in Nairobi this year. It is not an exaggeration to say that this is a "watershed opportunity" to get the views of aviculturists presented directly to the people who are shaping Government policy.

A brief explanation of CITES and its mandate will serve to underline the importance of this participation.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna is an international treaty that was implemented in 1975 to protect all endangered species (animals and plants) and to prevent international trade from threatening species with extinction. There are 150 member countries and delegates meet every two or three years at an international conference to review the Convention and to determine the status of various species. Member countries make proposals to add species to the CITES Control List, remove them from it or transfer them between categories. These proposals are circulated among the members well before the conference for study and response.

Birds (and other animals and plants) are classified into three categories:

• Appendix I species are rare or endangered and people are not allowed to trade in them (or their parts or products made from them) for commercial purposes. Their movement for non-commercial purposes is tightly controlled and an importer must obtain both an export permit issued by the government of the exporting nation and an import permit issued by the importing nation, in our case, Canada.
  
• Appendix II species are not currently rare or endangered but could become so if trade in them is not regulated. Animals and plants are listed for one of two reasons; either their trade is being controlled because there is a risk that they would become rare or endangered or they are similar to species already on Appendix I which would be at greater risk if trade in "look-alike" species was not controlled. These animals can be traded commercially if you have an export permit issued by the government of the country from which they are being exported.
  
• Appendix III species are not necessarily endangered but are carefully managed by a country which has asked to have them added to the CITES Control List. You would have to have an export permit, if trade is with the listing nation, or a certificate of origin or re-export certificate, if trade is with another nation.

It is important to note that CITES deals only with trade issues and looks at the effect that trade alone has on the status of the particular species. In other words, if a species is endangered because of habitat destruction but there is no trade whatsoever in it, CITES will not put it on Appendix I because trade is not causing or contributing to its endangerment. The criteria that it looks at is the condition of the species and the control of trade in it, if endangered. It does not deal with other issues related to endangerment, like preservation of habitat, prevention of poaching or the moral or ethical issues of trade in wild animals.

Representation at this level is extremely important because often a country's proposal is based on political considerations rather than objective or scientific reasons. Also, objections to proposals, for example downlisting from Appendix I to Appendix II, are often based on philosophical or emotional appeals.

The animal extremists were well represented at the meeting (seven of them out of 13 public representatives) and they did not miss an opportunity to push their agenda. Ron Orenstein of the International Wildlife Coalition spoke on every one of the 62 proposals and either objected to them if they involved downlisting or supported them if they recommended stricter regulation. The other activists supported him and made their own representations. They constantly promoted their own objectives in spite of the Chairman's numerous warnings to them that this was not the forum for philosophical or emotional debate.

Fortunately, there were only four species of birds involved in the proposals (lesser rhea, gyrfalcon, horned parakeet and ouvea parakeet) and the first two involved downlisting from Appendix I to Appendix II. The proposal for the parakeets was to move them from Appendix II to I and the Canadian government was basically opposed to this because the proposal was not based on appropriate CITES criteria and there was no evidence of endangerment. PAC and AACC stated their support for the Canadian position and opposed the animal activists' objections which were largely based on their own propaganda.

This is why it is so important that PAC and AACC have this kind of opportunity to have input in the process. Presentations at this level are conceivably more important than lobbying at the conference in Nairobi since the Canadian Government's position will already have been determined before then. We were able to make valuable contacts with the very people who are instrumental in deciding the status of many of the birds that we keep and, perhaps more importantly, made them aware of our presence and interest.

The Ottawa meeting dealt with specific proposals to amend CITES Appendices and to uplist or downlist particular species. Unfortunately, because of the lengthy presentations made by the animal activists, the review of all the proposals could not be completed that day. The meeting was rescheduled for March 27 in Toronto to deal with the remaining issues and dealt mostly with procedural matters and not species issues. Some of the items that were discussed included:

• captive breeding (Canada supports it)
• participation of observer at the Conference
• enforcement, seizure and persistent offenders
• criteria for amendment of Appendices I and II
• risks and benefits of trade in wildlife
• quotas for Appendix I species
• trade in Appendix II species
• the definition of "primarily commercial purposes"
• exempting diagnostic samples
• cross border movements of live animals for exhibition
• registration of operations breeding Appendix I species in captivity for commercial purposes
• use of microchips for identification
• transport of live animals
• potential risk of wildlife trade to the tourism industry
  

All three of us agreed that attendance at these meetings had been very worthwhile and had given aviculturists a foot in the door at a very important level. PAC and AACC will definitely be attending future meetings and the following are some of the issues that they will be promoting:

• The exemption of blood samples for DNA and diagnostic testing will continue to be pursued so that it does not get lost among the other business.
  
• The downlisting from Appendix I to Appendix II of second generation domestic bred birds that are properly banded and documented.
  
• Any role that MAP can play in CITES in classification of domestic bred species.
  
• Streamlining of import requirements for domestic breeding consortiums.
  
• Generally monitor issues which affect aviculture that are being proposed and provide input for the Canadian delegation.

Any other suggestions are welcomed and should be sent to George Rason, Dunstan Browne or Chris Holoboff.

Future attendances at these public consultation meetings will become more important, particularly since AACC will not be sending a delegate to the next international conference since it is not economically feasible.

For those who have Internet access, here are some websites that you may find of interest:

· www.islandnet.com/~aacc/intro.htm                      AACC
· www.parrotscanada.org                                         PAC
· www.cites.org/CITES/eng/index.shtml                  CITES Home Page
· www.cws-scf.ec.gc.ca/cites/intro_e.html               EnvironmentCanada CITES Office
· www.cws-scf.ec.gc.ca/cites/wappa/homepg.htm   WAPPRIITA
· www.cws-scf.ec.gc.ca/                                          Canadian Wildlife Service

CITES is administered in Canada through the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act which is further administered by the Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada.

PAC and AACC need the support of all bird owners, breeders and aviculturists in Canada and would appreciate donations to help offset travel and other costs for these meetings. Donations of $25.00 or more made payable to the "Avian Preservation Foundation" will qualify for a charitable tax receipt and can be sent either to AACC or PAC. Please mark on your cheque whether it is a donation to PAC or to AACC.

Donations for AACC should be sent to Doreen Albion, 3988 Hopesmore Road, Victoria , BC, V8N 6A3.

Donations to PAC should be sent to Mark Koenig, 20 King Street East, St. Clements, ON,
N0B 2M0.

This certainly has been an encouraging start for our joint association.