CITES LEGISLATION : Controls on sale and purchase of tortoises.

Issued by

Wildlife Trade Licensing Branch
Room 822
Tollgate House
Houlton Street
Bristol BS2 9DJ
email : wildlife.licensing@animalhealth.gsi.gov.uk

Specimens listed on Annex A must have an Article 10 sales exemption certificate before they can be used commercially, purchased and offered, transported or kept for sale.

The sale of Annex B specimens is not prohibited unless the seller does not possess documentary evidence that the specimens were imported or acquired legally.

There are two sorts of Article 10 Certificate:

A 'Holders Certificate' allows an Annex A specimen to be used for specific commercial purposes whilst it is in the ownership of the holder, and also covers one sale of the specimen by the holder. Any new owner would then need to apply for their own Article 10 Certificate if they wished to use the specimen for commercial purposes or sell it.

A 'Breeders Certificate' is issued to the breeder of the specimen. This certificate allows the specimen to be used for specified commercial purposes and is not owner specific. The certificate should be passed with the specimen from keeper to keeper. It can not be re-issued and ceases to be valid when it is lost.

Sometimes a semi-complete 'Breeders Certificate' may be issued to a breeder, for a specimen they anticipate will be bred that season by a specified breeding pair of adult specimens. The Department will issue both a top copy (as per usual) and duplicate copy. When a specimen hatches, the breeder will add date of birth and identifying mark details, in typescript, on both copies and return the duplicate copy to the Department.

With tortoises, there is a unique situation regarding the marking of hatchlings (see below).

Exceptions: known as DEROGATIONS or EXEMPTIONS.

The regulations allow a general exemption for the sale of

· certain live captive bred species of birds: various ducks, pheasants and so on listed on Annex VIII of the implementing regulation 939/97

· artificially propagated specimens of plant species (proof of origin will be required)

· worked specimens of species legally acquired before 1 June 1947.

Worked is defined as 'significantly altered from their natural raw state for jewellery, adornment, art, utility, or musical instruments and require no further carving, crafting or manufacture to effect their purpose'. (proof of date of acquisition will be required - for example, an old piano with ivory keys would not require an Article 10 sales licence, as long as there is evidence that the keys were legally acquired before 1 June 1947).

In addition, permits/certificates are not required for the import and re-export of personal or household effects of persons not normally residing in the EU Community.

Article 10 certificates are not required for advertisements for the unborn: for example, bird breeders who advertise in order to obtain orders for the following breeding season.

Article 10 certificates are also not required for advertisements offering to purchase non-specific Annex A Specimens: for example a WANTED advert.

Once a specimen was found, however, the sale/purchase would need to be covered by an Article 10 certificate.

Scientific Institutions: individual permits and certificates are not required for non-commercial loans or exchanges between registered scientific institutions of herbarium specimens, museum specimens or live plant material for scientific study, provided both institutions have been issued with an Article 30 certificate.

The following species of tortoise are listed on Annex A and require Article 10 Certificates for sale and commercial use including keeping, transporting and offering for sale.

TORTOISE   3 Keeled Land Melanochelys tricarinata =441

TORTOISE   Angulated Geochelone yniphora =444

TORTOISE   Berger's cape Homopus bergeri

TORTOISE   Bolson Gopherus flavomarginatus

TORTOISE   Common Testudo gracea

TORTOISE   Egyptian Testudo kleinmanni

TORTOISE   Galapagos Giant Geochelone nigra =443

TORTOISE   Geometric Psammobates geometricus =444

TORTOISE   Hermanns Testudo hermanni

TORTOISE   Madagascar flat-shelled Pyxis planicauda

TORTOISE   Madagascar Radiated Geochelone radiata =444

TORTOISE   Madagascar Geochelone yniphora =444

TORTOISE   Marginated Testudo marginata

TORTOISE   Mexican Giant Gopher Gopherus flavomarginatus

TORTOISE   Pancake Malacochersus tornieri

TORTOISE   Spur Thighed Testudo gracea

=441 includes generic synonyms Nicoria and Geoemyda (in part)

=443 also referenced as Geochelone elephantopus; also referenced in genus Testudo

=444 also referenced in genus Testudo

Marking Tortoise Hatchlings

The Department recognises that tortoise hatchlings under 100mm plastron length are too small to be safely fitted with a microchip transponder.

The DETR therefore issue sales certificates with a special condition requiring the tortoise to be marked when it reaches 100mm in length.

These certificates cease to be valid if the tortoise is not microchipped when it reaches the required size. If a person is selling tortoises using such a certificate, they must inform the buyer of the marking condition imposed on the certificate. Once the tortoise has been microchipped, the holder must return the certificate to the Department for amendment.
However, until such time as the hatchlings reach 100mm, the keeper must mark them uniquely by way of a microdot, plastron fingerprinting, or some other reliable method.

There are various Guidance notes on this subject which are available from the Department's Wildlife Licensing and Registration Service. They can be contacted on 0117 987 8691/8168.