Special cases

There are some special cases for trade under CITES. The list below gives a brief description of these special cases. If you think one of these cases may apply to you, it is important to contact your nearest DOC CITES officer for more information.

Please note that some countries have domestic laws that are stricter than CITES. Therefore, we recommend that you contact the CITES Management Authorities of the importing and exporting countries to ensure that all measures have been taken to grant a safe journey for the specimen.

Finally, when importing or exporting plants, animals, and/or their parts and derivatives, do not forget to contact the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) to find out whether there are any other requirements.

Hunting trophies

New Zealand applications for a permit to import hunting trophies of Appendix-I species must be accompanied by:

• a CITES export permit from the exporting country.

There are export quotas for various species that are hunted, such as leopard, cheetah, and black rhinoceros. Please contact your nearest DOC CITES officer to get more information about these export quotas, as it is required on permits.

To export hunting trophies of CITES species, you will need to provide copies of your hunting permits and hunting registers and any other necessary documents to show that you have legally hunted the animals.

Pre-Convention

Specimens that were obtained before CITES applied to that species may qualify for Pre-Convention status. Permitting for Pre-Convention items can be less strict. The Department of Conservation would need proof that the specimen was indeed acquired prior to that date; this could be authentication from an antiques dealer, old family wills and documents, or a signed affidavit.

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Personal effects entering New Zealand

There are a few specimens that you can import without a permit, if you are under the quantitative limit. These specimens are:

• Caviar of sturgeon species (Acipenseriformes spp.) - up to a maximum of 125 grams per person;
• Specimens of crocodilian species - up to four specimens per person;
• Rainsticks of Cactaceae spp. - up to three specimens per person;
• Coral, all eroded, smooth, unconsolidated fragments of broken finger-like dead coral and coral sand. This includes finger-like beach washed coral whose stem is less than 30 mm in diameter that was dead when collected;
• Queen conch (Strombus gigas) shells - up to three specimens per person;
• Seahorses (Hippocampus spp.) - up to four specimens per person; and
• Giant clam (Tridacnidae spp.) shells - up to three specimens, each of which may be one intact shell or two matching halves, not exceeding 3 kg per person.

Scientific exchange

Scientists and scientific exchange of material are not exempt from the permit system although registered scientific institutes can trade scientific material between organisations. If one of the scientific institutes exchanging material is not registered, then a full permit must accompany the item. Scientific exchange factsheet (PDF, 40K)

Species that are artificially propagated or bred in captivity

Specimens of an animal species included in Appendix I, which are bred in captivity for commercial purposes, or of plant species included in Appendix I, which are artificially propagated for commercial purposes, will be deemed to be specimens of species included in Appendix II.

Travelling zoo or exhibition

A Management Authority may allow the movement without permits and certificates of specimens which form part of a travelling zoo, circus, menagerie, plant exhibition or other travelling exhibition provided that:

• the exporter or importer registers full details of such specimens with that Management Authority;
• the specimens are not Appendix I species unless they are either classified as Pre-Convention or species artificially propagated or bred in captivity.

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