50 CFR Part 16 — Injurious Wildlife

PART 16—INJURIOUS WILDLIFE Authority: 18 U.S.C. 42. Source: 39 FR 1169, Jan. 4, 1974, unless otherwise noted. Subpart A—Introduction § 16.1 Purpose of regulations. The regulations contained in this part implement the Lacey Act (18 U.S.C. 42). § 16.2 Scope of regulations. The provisions of this part are in addition to, and are not in lieu of, other regulations of this subchapter B which may require a permit or prescribe additional restrictions or conditions for the importation, exportation, and interstate transportation of wildlife (see also part 13). § 16.3 General restrictions. Any importation or transportation of live wildlife or eggs thereof, or dead fish or eggs or salmonids of the fish family Salmonidae into the United States or its territories or possessions is deemed to be injurious or potentially injurious to the health and welfare of human beings, to the interest of forestry, agriculture, and horticulture, and to the welfare and survival of the wildlife or wildlife resources of the United States; and any such importation into or the transportation of live wildlife or eggs thereof between the continental United States, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any territory or possession of the United States by any means whatsoever, is prohibited except for certain purposes and under certain conditions as hereinafter provided in this part: Provided, Subpart B—Importation or Shipment of Injurious Wildlife § 16.11 Importation of live wild mammals. (a) The importation, transportation, or acquisition is prohibited of live specimens of: (1) Any species of so-called “flying fox” or fruit bat of the genus Pteropus Atilax, Cynictis, Helogale, Herpestes, Ichneumia, Mungos, Suricata Oryctolagus Cuon Mastomys Nyctereutes procyonoides Trichosurus vulpecula (b) Upon the filing of a written declaration with the District Director of Customs at the port of entry as required under § 14.61, all other species of live wild mammals may be imported, transported, and possessed in captivity, without a permit, for scientific, medical, educational, exhibition, or propagating purposes, but no such live wild mammals or any progeny thereof may be released into the wild except by the State wildlife conservation agency having jurisdiction over the area of release or by persons having prior written permission for release from such agency: Provided, [39 FR 1169, Jan. 4, 1974, as amended at 47 FR 56362, Dec. 16, 1982; 67 FR 39868, June 11, 2002] § 16.12 Importation of live wild birds or their eggs. (a) The importation, transportation, or acquisition is prohibited of any live specimen or egg of (1) the species of so-called “pink starling” or “rosy pastor” Sturnus roseus Quelea quelea Padda oryzivora Pycnonotus jocosus Provided, (b) Upon the filing of a written declaration with the District Director of Customs at the port of entry as required under § 14.61, all species of live wild game, birds may be imported, transported, and possessed in captivity, without a permit, for scientific, medical, educational, exhibition, or propagating purposes, and the eggs of such birds may be imported, transported, and possessed, without a permit, for propagating or scientific collection purposes, but no such live wild game birds or any progeny thereof may be released into the wild except by the State wildlife conservation agency having jurisdiction over the area of release or by persons having prior written permission for release from such agency. (c) Upon the filing of a written declaration with the District Director of Customs at the port of entry as required under § 14.61, all species of live, wild nongame birds (other than those listed in paragraph (a) of this section) may be imported, transported, and possessed in captivity, without a permit, for scientific, medical, educational, exhibition, or propagating purposes, but no such live, wild nongame birds or any progeny thereof may be released into the wild except by or under the direction of State wildlife conservation agencies when such agencies have received prior written permission from the Director for such release: Provided, Psittacidae (d) The importation of the eggs of wild nongame birds is prohibited except as permitted under § 16.33. § 16.13 Importation of live or dead fish, mollusks, and crustaceans, or their eggs. (a) Upon an exporter filing a written declaration with the District Director of Customs at the port of entry as required under § 14.61 of this chapter, live or dead fish, mollusks, and crustaceans, or parts thereof, or their gametes or fertilized eggs, may be imported, transported, and possessed in captivity without a permit except as follows: (1) No such live fish, mollusks, crustacean, or any progency or eggs thereof may be released into the wild except by the State wildlife conservation agency having jurisdiction over the area of release or by persons having prior written permission from such agency. (2) The importation, transportation, or acquisition of any of the species listed in this paragraph is prohibited except as provided under the terms and conditions set forth in § 16.22: (i) Live fish or viable eggs of walking catfish, family Clariidae. (ii) Live mitten crabs, genus Eriocheir, (iii) Live mollusks, veligers, or viable eggs of zebra mussels, genus Dreissena. (iv) Any live fish or viable eggs of snakehead fishes of the genera Channa Parachanna Bostrychoides, Ophicephalus, Ophiocephalus, Parophiocephalus (A) Channa amphibeus (B) Channa argus (C) Channa asiatica (D) Channa aurantimaculata. (E) Channa bankanensis (F) Channa baramensis (G) Channa barca (H) Channa bleheri (I) Channa cyanospilos (J) Channa gachua (K) Channa harcourtbutleri (L) Channa lucius (M) Channa maculata (N) Channa marulius (O) Channa maruloides (P) Channa melanoptera. (Q) Channa melasoma (R) Channa micropeltes (S) Channa nox. (T) Channa orientalis (U) Channa panaw. (V) Channa pleurophthalmus (W) Channa punctata (X) Channa stewartii (Y) Channa striata (Z) Parachanna africana (AA) Parachanna insignis (BB) Parachanna obscura (v) Any live fish, gametes, viable eggs, or hybrids of the following species in family Cyprinidae: (A) Carassius carassius (B) Carassius gibelio (C) Hypophthalmichthys harmandi (D) Hypophthalmichthys molitrix (E) Hypophthalmichthys nobilis (F) Mylopharyngodon piceus (G) Phoxinus phoxinus (H) Pseudorasbora parva (I) Rutilus rutilus (vi) Any live fish, gametes, viable eggs, or hybrids of Lates niloticus (vii) Any live fish, gametes, viable eggs, or hybrids of Perccottus glenii (viii) Any live fish, gametes, viable eggs, or hybrids of the following species in family Percidae: (A) Perca fluviatilis (B) Sander lucioperca (ix) Any live fish, gametes, viable eggs, or hybrids of Silurus glanis (x) Any live crustacean, gametes, viable eggs, or hybrids of Cherax destructor (3) Notwithstanding § 16.32, all Federal agencies shall be subject to the requirements stated within this section. Live or dead uneviscerated salmonid fish (family Salmonidae), live fertilized eggs, or gametes of salmonid fish are prohibited entry into the United States for any purpose except by direct shipment accompanied by a certification that: as defined in paragraph (e)(1) of this section, the fish lots, from which the shipments originated, have been sampled; virus assays have been conducted on the samples according to methods described in paragraphs (e)(2) through (4); of this section; and Oncorhynchus masou (4) All live fish eggs of salmonid fish must be disinfected within 24 hours prior to shipment to the United States. Disinfection shall be accomplished by immersion for 15 minutes in a 75 part per million (titratable active iodine) non-detergent solution of polyvinylpyrrolidone iodine (iodophor) buffered to a pH of 6.0 to 7.0. Following disinfection, the eggs shall be rinsed and maintained in water free of fish pathogens until packed and shipped. Any ice or water used for shipping shall be from pathogen-free water. (b)(1) The certification to accompany importations as required by this section shall consist of a statement in the English language, printed or typewritten, stating that this shipment of dead uneviscerated salmonid fish, live salmonid fish, or live, disinfected fertilized eggs or gametes of salmonid fish has been tested, by the methods outlined in this section, and none of the listed viruses were detected. The certification shall be signed in the country of origin by a qualified fish pathologist designated as a certifying official by the Director. (2) The certification must contain: (i) The date and port of export in the country of origin and the anticipated date of arrival in the United States and port of entry; (ii) Surface vessel name or number or air carrier and flight number; (iii) Bill of lading number or airway bill number; (iv) The date and location where fish, tissue, or fluid samples were collected; (v) The date and location where virus assays were completed; and (vi) The original handwritten signature, in ink, of the certifying official and his or her address and telephone number. (3) Certification may be substantially in the following form: I, ____, designated by the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on ____ (date), as a certifying official for ____ (country), as required by Title 50, CFR 16.13, do hereby certify that the fish lot(s) of origin for this shipment of ____ (weight in kilograms) dead uneviscerated salmonid fish, live salmonid fish, live salmonid fish eggs disinfected as described in § 16.13, or live salmonid gametes to be shipped under ____ (bill of lading number or airway bill number), were sampled at ____ (location of fish facility) on ____ (sampling date) and the required viral assays were completed on ____ (date assays were completed) at ____ (location where assays were conducted) using the methodology described in § 16.13. I further certify that Oncorhynchus masou The shipment is scheduled to depart ____ (city and country) on ____ (date), via ____ (name of carrier) with anticipated arrival at the port of ____ (city), U.S.A., on ____ (date). (Signature in ink of certifying official) (Printed name of certifying official) Date: Organization employing certifying official: Mailing address: City: State/Province: Zip Code/Mail Code: Country: Office telephone number: International code Telephone number Fax number (c) Nothing in this part shall restrict the importation and transportation of dead salmonid fish when such fish have been eviscerated (all internal organs removed, gills may remain) or filleted or when such fish or eggs have been processed by canning, pickling, smoking, or otherwise prepared in a manner whereby the Oncorhynchus masou (d) Any fish caught in the wild in North America under a valid sport or commercial fishing license shall be exempt from sampling and certification requirements and from filing the Declaration for Importation of Wildlife. The Director may enter into formal agreements allowing the importation of gametes, fertilized eggs, live fish, or dead, uneviscerated fish without inspection and certification of pathogen status, if the exporting Nation has an acceptable program of inspection and pathogen control in operation, can document the occurrence and distribution of fish pathogens within its boundaries, and can demonstrate that importation of salmonid fishes into the United States from that National will not pose a substantial risk to the public and private fish stocks of the United States. (e) Fish sampling requirements, sample processing, and methods for virus assays Fish sampling requirements. (ii) In a sample, or sub-sample of a given lot, collection of 10 or more moribund fish shall be given first preference. The remainder of fish required for collection shall be randomly selected live fish from all containers occupied by the lot being sampled. Moribund fish shall be collected and processed separately from randomly selected fish. In the event the sample is taken from adult broodstock of different ages that share the same container, first preference shall be given to collecting samples from the older fish. (iii) The minimum sample numbers collected from each lot must be in accordance with a plan that provides 95 percent confidence that at least one fish, with a detectable level of infection, will be collected and will be present in the sample if the assumed minimum prevalence of infection equals or exceeds 2 percent. A total of 150 fish collected proportionately from among all containers shared by the lot usually meets this requirement. A sampling strategy based on a presumed pathogen prevalence of 5 percent (60 fish) may be used to meet sampling requirements for shipments of gametes, fertilized eggs, or uneviscerated dead fish; provided that in the previous 2 years no disease outbreaks caused by a pathogen of concern have occurred at the facility from which the shipment originated and all stocks held at the facility have been inspected at least four times during that period (at intervals of approximately 6 months) and no pathogens of concern detected. (iv) Fish must be alive when collected and processed within 48 hours after collection. Tissue and fluid samples shall be stored in sealed, aseptic containers and kept at 4 °Celsius (C.) or on ice but not frozen. (v) Tissue collection shall be as follows: (A) Sac Fry and fry to 4 centimeter (cm): Assay entire fish. If present, remove the yolk sac. (B) Fish 4-6 cm: Assay entire visceral mass including kidney. (C) Fish longer than 6 cm: Assay kidney and spleen in approximately equal weight proportions. (D) Spawning adult broodstock: Assay kidney and spleen tissues from males and/or females and ovarian fluid from females. Ovarian fluid may comprise up to 50 percent of the samples collected. (2) General sample processing requirements. (ii) Whole fry (less yolk sacs), viscera, and kidney and spleen tissues from no more than five fish may be similarly pooled. (iii) Antibiotics and antifungal agents may be added to ovarian fluid or tissue samples to control microbial contaminant growth at the time of sample collection. Final concentrations shall not exceed 200-500 micrograms/milliliter (µg/ml) of Gentamycin, 800 international units/milliliter (IU/ml) of penicillin, or 800 µg/ml of streptomycin. Antifungal agent concentrations should not exceed 200 IU/ml of mycostatin (Nystatin) of 20 µg/ml of amphotericin B (Fungizone). (iv) Sample temperature must be maintained between 4 at 15 °C. during processing. Use separate sets of sterile homogenization and processing equipment to process fluids or tissues from each fish lot sampled. Processing equipment need not be sterilized between samples within a single lot. (v) Homogenized tissue samples may be diluted 1:10 with buffered cell culture medium (pH 7.4-7.8) containing antibiotics and antifungal agents not exceeding the concentrations described in paragraph (e)(2)(iii) of this section. Centrifuge tissue suspensions and ovarian fluid samples 4 °C. at 2,500 × gravity (g) (relative centrifugal force) for 15 minutes. Resulting supernatant solutions can be stored overnight at 4 °C. (vi) At the time of inoculation onto cell cultures, total dilution of processed tissue samples must not exceed 1:100 ((volume to volume) (v/v)); total dilution of ovarian fluid samples must not exceed 1:20 (v/v). In samples inoculated onto cell cultures, the final antibiotic concentration shall not exceed 100 µg/ml of Gentamicin, 100 IU/ml of penicillin, or 100 µg/ml of streptomycin and antifungal agent concentrations should not exceed 25 IU/ml of mycostatin (Nystatin) or 2.5 µg/ml of amphotericin B (Fungizone). (3) Cell culture procedures. (ii) Cell cultures shall be seeded and grown, at optimum temperatures, to 80-90 percent confluence in 24-well plates for virus assay work. (iii) Decant the medium from the required number of 24-well plates of each cell line, and inoculate four replicate wells per cell line with .10 ml per well of each processed sample. When all wells have been inoculated, tilt plates to spread the inocula evenly. Incubate inoculated plates for 1 hour at 15 °C. for sample contact. After the 1 hour contact add cell culture medium. Medium shall be buffered or cells incubated so that a pH between 7.4 and 7.8 is maintained. All cell culture assays shall be incubated, without overlays, at 15 °C. for 21 days. (4) Virus identification by serological methods. (f) Information concerning the importation requirements of this section and application requirements for designation as a certifying official for purposes of this section may be obtained by contacting the Division of Fish and Aquatic Conservation Programs at the address provided at 50 CFR 2.1(b) or by telephone at 703-358-1878. (g) The information collection requirements contained in this part have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget under 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. [58 FR 58979, Nov. 5, 1993, as amended at 65 FR 37063, June 13, 2000; 67 FR 62203, Oct. 4, 2002; 72 FR 37469, July 10, 2007; 72 FR 59035, Oct. 18, 2007; 76 FR 15858, Mar. 22, 2011; 79 FR 43964, July 29, 2014; 81 FR 67899, Sept. 30, 2016] § 16.14 Importation of live or dead amphibians or their eggs. (a) The importation, transportation, or acquisition of any live or dead specimen or hybrid, including parts (except for eggs or gametes; parts or tissues that have been chemically preserved, chemically treated, or heat treated so that the pathogen Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans, Ambystoma, Andrias, Aneides, Aquiloeurycea, Calotriton, Chioglossa, Chiropterotriton, Cryptobranchus, Cynops, Desmognathus, Ensatina, Euproctus, Eurycea, Hydromantes, Hynobius, Ichthyosaura, Laotriton, Lissotriton, Neurergus, Notophthalmus, Ommatotriton, Onychodactylus, Pachytriton, Paramesotriton, Plethodon, Pleurodeles, Proteus, Pseudobranchus, Pseudotriton, Salamandra, Salamandrella, Salamandrina, Siren, Taricha, Triturus, Tylototriton (b) Upon the filing of a written declaration with the District Director of Customs at the port of entry as required under § 14.61 of this chapter, all other species of amphibians may be imported, transported, and possessed in captivity, without a permit, for scientific, medical, education, exhibition, or propagating purposes, but no such amphibians or any progeny or eggs thereof may be released into the wild except by the State wildlife conservation agency having jurisdiction over the area of release or by persons having prior written permission for release from such agency. [81 FR 1554, Jan. 13, 2016, as amended at 90 FR 2221, Jan. 10, 2025] § 16.15 Importation of live reptiles or their eggs. (a) The importation, transportation, or acquisition of any live specimen, gamete, viable egg, or hybrid of the species listed in this paragraph is prohibited except as provided under the terms and conditions set forth at § 16.22: (1) Boiga irregulari (2) Python molurus P. molurus molurus P. molurus bivittatus (3) Python reticulatus, Broghammerus reticulatus, Malayopython reticulatus (4) Python sebae (5) Python natalensis (6) Eunectes notaeus (7) Eunectes deschauenseei (8) Eunectes murinus (9) Eunectes beniensis (b) Upon the filing of a written declaration with the District Director of Customs at the port of entry as required under § 14.61, all other species of live reptiles or their eggs may be imported, transported, and possessed in captivity, without a permit, for scientific, medical, educational, exhibitional or propagating purposes, but no such live reptiles or any progency or eggs thereof may be released into the wild except by the State wildlife conservation agency having jurisdiction over the area of release or by persons having prior written permission for release from such agency. [55 FR 17441, Apr. 25, 1990, as amended at 77 FR 3366, Jan. 23, 2012; 80 FR 12745, Mar. 10, 2015] Subpart C—Permits § 16.22 Injurious wildlife permits. The Director may, upon receipt of an application and in accordance with the issuance criteria of this section, issue a permit authorizing the importation into or shipment between the continental United States, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any possession of the United States of injurious wildlife (See subpart B of this part) for zoological, educational, medical, or scientific purposes. (a) Application requirements. (1) The number of specimens and the common and scientific names (genus and species) of each species of live wildlife proposed to be imported or otherwise acquired, transported and possessed; (2) The purpose of such importation or other acquisition, transportation and possession; (3) The address of the premises where such live wildlife will be kept in captivity; (4) A statement of the applicant's qualifications and previous experience in caring for and handling captive wildlife. (b) Additional permit conditions. (1) All live wildlife acquired under permit and all progeny thereof, must be confined in the approved facilities on the premises authorized in the permit. (2) No live wildlife, acquired under permit, or any eggs or progeny thereof, may be sold, donated, traded, loaned, or transferred to any other person unless such person has a permit issued by the Director under § 16.22 authorizing him to acquire and possess such wildlife or the eggs or progeny thereof. (3) Permittees shall notify the nearest Special Agent-in-Charge (see § 10.22 of this chapter) by telephone or other expedient means within 24 hours following the escape of any wildlife imported or transported under authority of a permit issued under this section, or the escape of any progeny of such wildlife, unless otherwise specifically exempted by terms of the permit. (c) Issuance criteria. (1) Whether the wildlife is being imported or otherwise acquired for a bona fide scientific, medical, educational, or zoological exhibition purpose; (2) Whether the facilities for holding the wildlife in captivity have been inspected and approved, and consist of a basic cage or structure of a design and material adequate to prevent escape which is maintained inside a building or other facility of such structure that the wildlife could not escape from the building or other facility after escaping from the cage or structure maintained therein; (3) Whether the applicant is a responsible person who is aware of the potential dangers to public interests posed by such wildlife, and who by reason of his knowledge, experience, and facilities reasonably can be expected to provide adequate protection for such public interests; and (4) If such wildlife is to be imported or otherwise acquired for zoological or aquarium exhibition purposes, whether such exhibition or display will be open to the public during regular appropriate hours. (d) The Office of Management and Budget approved the information collection requirements contained in this part 16 under 44 U.S.C. 3507 and assigned OMB Control Number 1018-0093. The Service may not conduct or sponsor, and you are not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. We are collecting this information to provide information necessary to evaluate permit applications. We will use this information to review permit applications and make decisions, according to criteria established in various Federal wildlife conservation statutes and regulations, on the issuance, suspension, revocation, or denial of permits. You must respond to obtain or retain a permit. We estimate the public reporting burden for these reporting requirements to average 2 hours per response, including time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the forms. Direct comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of these reporting requirements to the Service's Information Collection Clearance Officer at the address provided at 50 CFR 2.1(b). [39 FR 1169, Jan. 4, 1974, as amended at 47 FR 30786, July 15, 1982; 63 FR 52634, Oct. 1, 1998; 79 FR 43964, July 29, 2014] Subpart D—Additional Exemptions § 16.32 Importation by Federal agencies. Nothing in this part shall restrict the importation and transportation, without a permit, of any live wildlife by Federal agencies solely for their own use, upon the filing of a written declaration with the District Director of Customs at the port of entry as required under § 14.61: Provided, § 16.33 Importation of natural-history specimens. Nothing in this part shall restrict the importation and transportation, without a permit, of dead natural-history specimens of wildlife or their eggs for museum or scientific collection purposes: Provided,

Related documents

• 50 CFR Part 21 — Migratory Bird Permits#512084
• 50 CFR Part 14 — Importation, Exportation, and Transportation of Wildlife#512077
• 50 CFR Part 81 — Conservation of Endangered and Threatened Species of Fish, Wildlife, and Plants—Cooperation with the States#512104
• 50 CFR Part 90 — Feeding Depredating Migratory Waterfowl#512109
• 50 CFR Part 19 — Airborne Hunting#512082