Contents
4 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS)
5 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
6 U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
Statement of Purpose
Compliance with multiple regulatory agencies may be required for the import, export, or transport of natural history specimens. This page gives an overview of the relevant U.S. agencies.
Contributors
Major editor: Breda Zimkus.
Introduction
Import, interstate movement, and export of infectious agents and/or biological materials that are suspected to contain such agents, are tightly regulated by Federal agencies and may require permits. These permits minimize the risk of inadvertent release and inappropriate use of such materials.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS)
All importation and exportation of specimens and associated products into and out of the United States must be done via a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Designated Port using the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Declaration for Importation or Exportation of Fish and Wildlife (3-177). Declarations can be submitted online via the Electronic Declarations (eDecs) webpage. You may import or export your shipment at an authorized border port only if the wildlife itself originally comes from the United States, Canada, or Mexico, and your shipment is being sent from and going to one of these countries. Under very limited circumstances, you may be authorized under permit to use a port that does not normally handle wildlife trade. You must show that using one of our authorized ports would result in substantial deterioration or loss of the wildlife, or would cause an undue economic hardship. Final approval to use a non-authorized port depends on the availability of inspection services.
Live oysters, clams, mussels, and scallops, and their eggs, larvae, or juvenile forms that are exported for propagation or research related to propagation are exempt from declaration requirements, provided they do not require a permit under 50 CFR 17 (endangered and threatened species) or 23 (CITES-protected species). You do not have to declare exports of live farm-raised fish eggs or live farm-raised fish unless they require a permit under 50 CFR 17 or 23.
For additional information regarding filing instructions, see U .S. Fish & Wildlife Declaration for Importation or Exportation of Fish and Wildlife (3-177).
Injurious Wildlife
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Office of Law Enforcement is responsible for enforcing the injurious wildlife provisions of the Lacey Act. This law authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to list as “injurious” any wildlife deemed to be harmful “to human beings, to the interests of agriculture, horticulture, forestry, or to wildlife or the wildlife resources of the United States” and prohibits import and interstate transport of any live specimen of a listed species without a permit. Permits may be granted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the importation or shipment of specimens of injurious wildlife and their offspring or eggs for scientific, medical, educational, or zoological purposes. For more information regarding species currently listed as Injurious, including freshwater species, salamanders and constrictor snakes, see U.S. Fish & Wildlife Office of Law Enforcement. See the permit application form for import of injurious wildlife or interstate shipment between the jurisdictions.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
CDC Import Permit regulations regulate the importation of infectious biological agents, infectious substances, and vectors of human disease into the United States.
A CDC Etiologic Agent Import permit is required prior to importing the following into the U.S.:
- Infectious biological agent (e.g., bacteria, viruses, fungi, prion, etc.)
- Infectious substance or any material that may potentially contain an infectious biological agent
- Vector – Any arthropod or other animal host or vector of human diseases, or any non-infectious self-replicating system capable of transferring an infectious biological agent to a human
- Arthropods, Snails, Bats
- Non-human primate material (all non-human primate material, unless it has been specifically treated and rendered non-infectious, in which case documentation of the treatment method may need to be provided)
The Division of Global Migration and Quarantine (DGMQ) handles importation of all viverrid species (civets and relatives) and African rodents. An authorization letter is needed to import materials of this nature.
U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
USDA APHIS issues permits to ensure the safe import and transport of materials containing plant or animal material that may potentially harm U.S. agricultural products including livestock, poultry and crops. These permits outline the controls necessary for the import, export, interstate transport and release of these regulated products. The Veterinary Services branch of USDA APHIS issues the Veterinary Services (VS) Import, Export or Transport permits and the Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) branch of APHIS issues PPQ permits. APHIS also regulates the movement of certain genetically engineered organisms through its Biotechnology Regulatory Services (BRS).
USDA import permits are required for organisms that can cause disease in livestock/poultry or vectors carrying pathogens:
- Birds: from specific countries (associated with END and HPAI)
- Mammals: bovine, equine, swine, primates
- Bees
- Live Plant Pests, Noxious Weeds and Soil
- Restricted or Not Authorized Plant Material (requiring Controlled Import Permit)
ls and how to apply to