Issue 60
December 15, 2005

Weather Trivia

 You Asked Us

Environment Canada's knowledgeable specialists answer questions about wildlife, air pollution, water, weather, climate change and other aspects of the environment.

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I am a Canadian citizen residing in the United States. I have a mah jong game set in Canada and would like to have it sent to me in the U.S. It has been in my family for over 100 years and the game pieces are made of ivory. Please advise what information I need to know to export protected species and their products from Canada.

You will need to obtain a CITES import permit from the country you want to transport the item to, in this case the United States. Once this has been issued, you can submit a copy of it, along with an application for a CITES export permit to the Canadian authorities. At this point, Canada will be able to issue you an export permit. Make sure to take care of these details well in advance of plans to ship or travel with these items.

Canada is a party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) and as such controls the trade of selected species across its borders. Trade-restricted species are placed on one of three Appendices.

The elephant is an Appendix I species because it has become rare or endangered due to international trade. This means that trade of elephants, including their ivory, is prohibited. However, an exception to this concerns pre-convention specimens, which your mah jong set would qualify as since it predates February 26, 1976-when the African elephant was first listed in the Appendices.

Although the mah jong set could be identified as an antique, Canada does not offer an exemption for antiques and so you will still be required to obtain the appropriate permits from both countries.

Application Forms for a permit to import or export CITES regulated species to/from Canada can be downloaded from the CITES Web site. Once there, you will also find a collection of Info Notes dealing with various species.

Species falling under Appendix II, ranging from Asiatic ginseng to blue coral to grizzly bears, and Appendix III, such as South American rattlesnakes, Grey-headed sparrows and the Atlantic Walrus, can be internationally traded and transported, but their movement is controlled by CITES permits. Appendix II species are not currently endangered, but could become so as a result of their trade; Appendix III species are not endangered either, but are managed within the nations which listed the species. A quick summary of permit requirements for importing or exporting Appendix I, II, and III species are also on the web site.

To find out if something you wish to trade or transport is regulated by CITES, you can look at the list of regulated species. This list will also give you information about which Appendix the species falls under.

In Canada, CITES is administered by Environment Canada's Canadian Wildlife Service.

Do not hesitate to contact the Canadian CITES office directly if you are unable to find what you need on Environment Canada's CITES web site, or the CITES Frequently Asked Questions section. You can reach a CITES representative, who will be able to help you with your questions, by email, snail mail, phone or fax at: