This ad was flagged by someone explaining it’s a CITES 1 (protected) animal. They said “CITES 1 animals are in NO WAY allowed in any commercial activity.”
Is this person correct, and is this what “commercial” means – that this animal is not allowed to be sold under any conditions?
Caveat: I am working off my (very dated) memory of back when I was more active with carnivorous plants.
CITES governs the INTERNATIONAL trade of species. If something is CITES I then there are extremely tight rules on shipping it between countries.
CITES does not govern trade within a country but the CITES nature of the species often carries a “burden of proof” that it is legitimate
Now… The A10, as best I can tell, is a European cert so I do not know what all is entailed with that but I am guessing it has to do with that “burden of proof” legitimacy above:
But as best I can tell (again, working off my old knowledge of CITES and my supposition of European rules) there is nothing wrong with this animal being listed. Assuming the paperwork is indeed legitimate.
With CITES here is how they word the Appendix 1
Appendix I lists species that are the most endangered among CITES-listed animals and plants (see Article II, paragraph 1 of the Convention). They are threatened with extinction and CITES prohibits international trade in specimens of these species except when the purpose of the import is not commercial (see Article III), for instance for scientific research. In these exceptional cases, trade may take place provided it is authorized by the granting of both an import permit and an export permit (or re-export certificate). Article VII of the Convention provides for a number of exemptions to this general prohibition.
Here is a direct link to them . https://www.cites.org/eng/app/index.php
Just for history this exact species Brachylophus bulabula *Fiji banded iguanas are one of the animals that landed a well respected and known member of the reptile community in a lot of trouble back in the 90’s at the time he was one of the biggest names importing and wholesale of exotic’s. I will not post his name but most that were around back then know him and who knows I believe he is a member of the site and may see this and respond to the legal issues with these.
That well respected/known member of the reptile community got in a lot of trouble because he brought the animals into the US without and permits/documentation. That was the problem because, citing the passage you did (emphasis added by me)
If the animals are being bought/sold/traded within the boundaries of the country however, they are not subject to CITES regulations. There may be other laws that apply in that case but CITES is not applicable.
As an example; Nepenthes rajah is a CITES I listed plant. I can very easily purchase one of these plants from a grower in California and not run afoul of the law: Nepenthes Rajah for Sale | Pitcher Plant Online | Predatory Plants
But if I try to import one from a grower in Germany, then I will be subject to violation of CITES: https://www.wistuba.com/nepenthes/borneo/highland/nepenthes-rajah-tam-borneo.php
It turned out that this guy was a scammer and I banned him anyway for other reasons – including the fact that he couldn’t produce the document he said he had (“was selling for a friend, I’ll remove the ad”).
(Why he chose to scam with such a complex and attention getting ad is beyond me. Selling a single gene BP morph for under $50 is like dumping blood in the sea.)
However, the question is still an interesting one for future situations.
