The Born Free Foundation

…1 Born Free feedback: Revision of the Union Customs Code 9 June 2023 Born Free welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on the revised Union Customs Code. Our organisation has a long history working on wildlife trade and trafficking and we believe Member States’ Customs authorities play a central role in the regulation and control of wild animals and wildlife products that enter, circulate within and are exported from the EU. This role needs to be clearly recognised and its importance raised in the revised Union Customs Code in order to effectively address the threats wildlife trade and trafficking present to human health, biodiversity, the environment, national security, and animal welfare.

…trade and trafficking present to human health, biodiversity, the environment, national security, and animal welfare. Specific measures should be adopted ensuring that wildlife trade is prioritised by Customs authorities, and that adequate resources, training and tools are provided to enable those authorities to effectively monitor, control and act upon instances of wildlife trafficking. This should be reflected in the relevant sections of the proposed revised Regulation. THE RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH WILDLIFE TRADE AND NEED FOR TIGHTER CONTROLS Wildlife trade (both legal and illegal) poses serious risks to conservation, biosecurity, local and national economies, national security and animal welfare. The EU is a major destination, transit hub and source region for the trade in and trafficking of wildlife.

…welfare. The EU is a major destination, transit hub and source region for the trade in and trafficking of wildlife. It is therefore important to ensure that EU policies and their application enable legal trade to be tightly controlled, and illegal trade to be vigorously addressed. • The line between legal and illegal wildlife trade is often blurred. Legal activities can stimulate the demand for wildlife products and provide pathways for traffickers to launder illegal products, undermining enforcement and wildlife protection efforts.

…provide pathways for traffickers to launder illegal products, undermining enforcement and wildlife protection efforts. The Covid-19 pandemic has also highlighted the public health risks associated wildlife: in a 2020 report, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) identified wildlife trade – both legal and illegal – as a major driver of the global biodiversity and extinction crisis and an important risk factor for zoonotic diseases. • Illegal wildlife trade, also referred to as wildlife trafficking, is the fourth largest and one of the most profitable crimes worldwide, estimated to be worth $US7-23 billion according to the UN Environment Programme, and as much as US$69-199 billion when illegal logging and fishing are included.

…to the UN Environment Programme, and as much as US$69-199 billion when illegal logging and fishing are included. Considered a ‘low risk – high reward’ activity by criminals, illegal wildlife trade is often conducted by transnational organised crime networks that may also be involved in drug and human trafficking, money laundering and other serious crimes, creating substantial liabilities in terms of governance and security in the countries involved. • By its very nature, illegal wildlife trade also presents particularly high risks to wildlife conservation, biosecurity and animal welfare. Trafficking activities increase pressures on populations of endangered and protected animals. Since traffickers pay no regard for biosecurity protocols or animal welfare, they also create the ideal conditions for the emergence and spread of and pathogens, some of which may have zoonotic potential. Ref.

…the ideal conditions for the emergence and spread of and pathogens, some of which may have zoonotic potential. Ref. Ares(2023)4004176 - 09/06/2023 2 RECOMMENDATIONS The specific risks associated wildlife trade should be prioritised in the new Customs Regulation to ensure that Member State Customs authorities are provided with the necessary tools, training and resources to monitor, control and act upon instances of wildlife trafficking effectively. The new Regulation should also send a strong political message that wildlife trafficking is a serious crime that will be treated with the highest priority by customs authorities, and in a harmonised way, across the EU. 1.

…crime that will be treated with the highest priority by customs authorities, and in a harmonised way, across the EU. 1. Prioritise wildlife trafficking in customs activities In spite of increasing international recognition of wildlife trafficking as a serious crime, most recently through UN Resolution 75/311 from July 2021, it remains inadequately regulated and insufficiently controlled in the EU, as recognised in the European Commission’s Roadmap for the revision of the EU Action Plan against Wildlife Trafficking published in October 2021. The new Union Customs Code must urgently address these failings by making wildlife trafficking a key priority for EU and Member State customs services. This should ideally be reflected in the Regulation in order to send a strong and clear message to Member States. • Increased priority would notably translate into enhanced scrutiny and control (cf.

…clear message to Member States. • Increased priority would notably translate into enhanced scrutiny and control (cf. Article 43 of the proposed Regulation) of shipments entering the EU, that could contain live wild animals or wildlife products, and the associated documentation. Many illegal wildlife specimens enter the EU using inadequate or fraudulent documentation.

…associated documentation. Many illegal wildlife specimens enter the EU using inadequate or fraudulent documentation. ➢ Articles 63 and 64 of the proposed Regulation stipulate that “all goods intended to be placed under a customs procedure shall be covered by a customs declaration” that "shall contain all the particulars necessary for application of the provisions governing the customs procedure for which the goods are declared" and that "the Commission shall specify, by means of implementing acts, the procedure for lodging the standard customs declaration." We understand that the intention is for most declarations to be submitted electronically in the future.

We understand that the intention is for most declarations to be submitted electronically in the future. In the case of live wild animals or plants and wildlife products covered by international or national regulations, this should include relevant health/sanitary certification, export and import permits, official declarations of legal acquisition and non-detriment, and evidence that no stricter measures have been imposed restricting the trade in the products into or from the EU, or from the country of origin (such as CITES compliance decisions or negative opinions of the EU Scientific Review Group).

…from the country of origin (such as CITES compliance decisions or negative opinions of the EU Scientific Review Group). • Increased priority would also require the Commission to establish common priority control areas and common risk criteria and standards and provide policy orientations for the risks associated with wildlife trade and trafficking, as well as ensure these are reflected in the EU and national customs risk management and mitigation plans referred to under Chapter 3 of the Regulation proposal. ➢ The Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated that zoonotic diseases can have serious impacts on human and animal health and welfare, as well as on the wider economy. Epidemics and pandemics of animal origin are becoming increasingly common, and scientists warn of the increasing risk of future zoonotic pathogen emergence, proliferation and spill-over.

…common, and scientists warn of the increasing risk of future zoonotic pathogen emergence, proliferation and spill-over. The EU Customs Code has an important role to play. It should include risk management and mitigation measures to help prevent the emergence of zoonotic pathogens from wildlife trade activities through the adoption of precautionary, binding, biosecurity protocols at customs points across the EU. A reference to such protocols should be included in the Regulation. 3 ➢ Many wildlife species traded in the EU are protected under International (CITES) and EU law (Wildlife Trade Regulations - WTR) because of their conservation status. The WTR require import permits for Annex A and Annex B species, to verify that the import of these species to the EU is legal and non-detrimental to the conservation status of the population from which it is derived.

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…1 Born Free’s feedback on: Reform of the Union customs legislation 9 September 2022 Born Free welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback. Our organisation has a long history working on wildlife trade and trafficking and we believe Member States’ customs authorities play a central role in the regulation and control of wild animals and wildlife products that enter, circulate within and are exported from the EU. This role needs to be clearly recognised and its importance raised in the new union customs legislative framework in order to effectively address the threats wildlife trade and trafficking present to human health, biodiversity, the environment, national security, and animal welfare.

…trade and trafficking present to human health, biodiversity, the environment, national security, and animal welfare. Illegal wildlife trade, also referred to as wildlife trafficking, is the fourth largest and one of the most profitable crimes worldwide, estimated to be worth $US7-23 billion according to the UN Environment Programme, and as much as US$69-199 billion when illegal logging and fishing are included. Considered a ‘low risk – high gain activity by criminals, illegal wildlife trade is often conducted by transnational organised crime networks that may also be involved in other serious crimes such as drug and human trafficking, creating serious liabilities in terms of governance and security in the countries involved.

…drug and human trafficking, creating serious liabilities in terms of governance and security in the countries involved. Furthermore, wildlife trade (both legal and illegal) has been identified as a major driver of the global biodiversity and extinction crisis and as an important risk factor for zoonotic diseases. The EU is a major destination, transit hub and source region for the trade in wildlife. Illegal wildlife trade, by its very nature, present particularly high risks to conservation, biosecurity and animal welfare. These activities add serious pressures on populations of endangered and protected animals. Since traffickers pay no regard for biosecurity protocols or animal welfare, they also create the ideal conditions for the emergence and spread of and pathogens, some of which may have zoonotic potential.

…the ideal conditions for the emergence and spread of and pathogens, some of which may have zoonotic potential. In spite of increasing international recognition and EU support for wildlife trafficking activities to be treated as serious crimes, most recently through UN Resolution 75/311 from July 2021, they remain inadequately regulated and insufficiently controlled in the EU, as recognised in the European Commission’s Roadmap for the revision of the EU Action Plan against Wildlife Trafficking published in October 2021. The new Union Customs legislative framework must urgently address these failings by making wildlife trafficking a key priority for the EU and Member States customs services. The framework must also ensure that customs services are provided with the adequate resources, training and tools needed to effectively monitor, control and act upon instances of wildlife trafficking.

…resources, training and tools needed to effectively monitor, control and act upon instances of wildlife trafficking. Given the transnational nature of wildlife trafficking, the harmonisation and standardisation of customs rules and procedures at EU level, as recommended in this consultation’s Roadmap, will be essential to enhance the capability and effectiveness of customs services in tackling these activities. Training for competent services within customs authorities should be homogeneous across Member States, and tools and processes should be put in place to prioritise and facilitate this work. Cooperation and collaboration of these services within and across Member States to ensure robust and consistent data collection and intelligence sharing, alongside mentorship networks and guidance, should be established at EU level.

…collection and intelligence sharing, alongside mentorship networks and guidance, should be established at EU level. To achieve this, adequate national and EU budgets must be allocated to support these actions. Ref. Ares(2022)6397710 - 16/09/2022 2 Illegal wildlife trade and e-commerce We particularly support the need for a strong focus on e-commerce. Wildlife traffickers increasingly use online platforms and networks to facilitate illegal wildlife trade. Such platforms and networks offer greater opportunities to criminals, while being harder for enforcement authorities to monitor and control. A paper entitled ‘Assessing online wildlife marketing - A tool for monitoring illegality’ by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime provides guidance to facilitate recognition of suspicious advertisements and to prioritise action.

Organised Crime provides guidance to facilitate recognition of suspicious advertisements and to prioritise action. The management of confiscated wild animals and wildlife products The management of confiscated live wild animals and wildlife products also need to be prioritised. The regulation and control of wildlife trade inevitably results in confiscations, but currently the provision of guidance or resources to enable customs services to deal effectively with seized specimens is limited. The new framework should aim to ensure that confiscated live wild animals and wildlife products are being managed adequately, taking into account available internationally agreed mechanisms including CITES Resolution Conf. 17.8 on Disposal of illegally traded and confiscated specimens of CITES-listed species.

CITES Resolution Conf. 17.8 on Disposal of illegally traded and confiscated specimens of CITES-listed species. Consideration should be given to, where appropriate, destroying confiscated wildlife products or offering them to appropriate public entities for genuine educational and conservation purposes. Confiscated live wild animals present a particular challenge. EU treaties recognise animals as sentient beings which brings with it a responsibility to treat them in a humane way. The IUCN Guidelines for the management of confiscated, live organisms provide useful information to ensure that confiscated animals are managed appropriately. However, many challenges remain and need to be addressed.

…to ensure that confiscated animals are managed appropriately. However, many challenges remain and need to be addressed. Clear guidance and training for customs officials is required to facilitate recognition of species in illegal trade and their immediate management, alongside rapid access to species-specific expertise. Priority should be given to establishing sufficient networks of shelters and wildlife sanctuaries to cater for the large number of live individual animals of a wide variety of species confiscated every year. Partnerships with NGOs and other Member States should be established and reinforced, with the welfare of confiscated live animals as the priority. Appropriate resources to carry out operations should be provided to the competent services. We thank you for this opportunity to share our feedback and are available to provide further information.

…services. We thank you for this opportunity to share our feedback and are available to provide further information. About the Born Free Foundation Born Free is a UK-based international wildlife protection charity. We promote compassionate conservation to enhance the survival of threatened species in the wild and protect natural habitats while respecting the needs and safeguarding the welfare of individual animals. As a leading wildlife charity, we oppose the exploitation of wild animals in captivity and campaign to keep them where they belong – in the wild. For further information please contact: Elodie Cantaloube EU Policy Officer [email protected]

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