§ 23.90 What are the criteria for listing species in Appendix III?

(a) Purpose. Article XVI of the Treaty sets out the procedures for amending Appendix III. (b) General procedure. A Party may unilaterally, at any time, submit a request to list a species in Appendix III to the CITES Secretariat. The listing will become effective 90 days after the Secretariat notifies the Parties of the request. (c) Criteria for listing. For a Party to list a species in Appendix III, all of the following criteria must be met: (1) The species must be native to the country listing the species. (2) The species must be protected under that country's laws or regulations to prevent or restrict exploitation and control trade, and the laws or regulations are being implemented. (3) The species is in international trade, and there are indications that the cooperation of other Parties would help to control illegal trade. (4) The listing Party must inform the Management Authorities of other range countries, the known major importing countries, the Secretariat, and the Animals Committee or the Plants Committee that it is considering the listing and seek their opinions on the potential effects of the listing. (d) Annotation. The listing Party may annotate the Appendix-III listing to include only specific parts, products, derivatives, or life stages, as long as the Secretariat is notified of the annotation. (e) U.S. procedure. The procedure to list a species native to the United States in Appendix III is as follows: (1) We will consult with and solicit comments from all States and Tribes where the species occurs and all other range countries. (2) We will publish a proposed rule in the Federal Register to solicit comments from the public. (3) If after evaluating the comments received and available information we determine the species should be listed in Appendix III, we will publish a final rule in the Federal Register and notify the Secretariat of the listing. (f) Removing a species from Appendix III. We will monitor the international trade in Appendix-III species listed by us and periodically evaluate whether each species continues to meet the listing criteria in paragraph (c) of this section. We will remove a species from Appendix III provided all of the following criteria are met: (1) International trade in the species is very limited. As a general guide, we will consider removal when exports involve fewer than 5 shipments per year or fewer than 100 individual animals or plants. (2) Legal and illegal trade in the species, including international trade or interstate commerce, is determined not to be a concern. (g) Transferring a species from Appendix III to Appendix I or II. If, after monitoring the trade and evaluating the status of an Appendix-III species we listed, we determine that the species meets the criteria in § 23.89(b) through (d) of this section for listing in Appendix I or II, we will consider whether to submit a proposal to amend the listing at the next CoP.