Guides → CITES records

CITES and permit records for bird breeders

CITES is where record-keeping stops being good practice and starts being a legal obligation. This is a practical guide to what to record against each bird, not legal advice, and no substitute for your national management authority.

What CITES actually controls

CITES regulates international trade in listed species through three appendices. Appendix I species are threatened with extinction and commercial trade in wild specimens is prohibited. Appendix II species are not necessarily threatened yet but could become so, and trade is allowed under permit. Appendix III covers species a member country has asked for help protecting.

The listing follows the species, not the bird. Captive breeding does not take a species off the list. It changes which documents apply.

Identity is the whole game

Every requirement below depends on tying a document to a specific bird. That is what the closed ring is for: fitted in the first days of life, it cannot be transferred to an adult, which is why ring number and year carry the evidential weight they do. Microchips serve the same purpose for larger species.

If your records cannot answer "which bird is this certificate for?", they are not records.

What to keep against each bird

• Ring or microchip number, and the year the ring was issued
• Parentage. For Appendix I birds, documented captive breeding is usually the basis of any certificate
• Permit or certificate reference, with its issue and expiry dates
• Where the bird came from, when, and under what document
• Who it went to, when, and the paperwork that travelled with it

Expiry is the usual failure

Permits lapse quietly. The bird is still there, the folder is still in the drawer, and the certificate expired eight months ago, discovered at the point of sale, when it is too late to fix quickly. Record expiry dates somewhere that can warn you in advance rather than somewhere you have to remember to check.

Be ready for the sale, not the inspection

Most breeders meet their paperwork at the moment of sale, when a buyer wants a bird passport and the transfer documents. Records assembled in advance make that a five-minute job. Records assembled afterwards can cost the sale.

Common questions

Does CITES apply to captive-bred birds?

Yes. CITES governs the species, not the origin, so a captive-bred bird of a listed species is still covered, though captive breeding usually changes which paperwork applies rather than removing the requirement.

What is the difference between Appendix I and Appendix II?

Appendix I covers species threatened with extinction, where commercial international trade in wild-caught specimens is essentially prohibited and captive-bred birds need documented parentage. Appendix II covers species that could become threatened, with trade permitted under permit. Many popular parrots sit in one or the other.

What should I keep for each bird?

At minimum: the ring or microchip number, the permit or certificate reference and its expiry, the parentage, and the transfer history in and out. The paperwork is only as good as your ability to tie it to a specific living bird.