Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,
Can anyone give me a rundown as to what is required to obtain your cites permit for exporting balls and/or boas? i found the appropriate form from fish and wildlife for captive born animals and will be sending that along.However, does anyone know what steps are next if they o.k.me to export internationally??? Does one need to fill out this form everytime an animal is shipped and wait the 60 days for its review?
Breakdown of fees?Couldnt find fees anywhere?!
Is it as easy as using your local major postal service to ship internationally or does one need a broker? If broker is needed where would I go about finding a good one?
Thanks,any advice much appreciated!!!!!

You'd be better off to find a broker that will handle everything. You send the animal(s) to them, and they handle the paperwork, fees, legwork, etc. for one price. Export permits aren't granted all that often, where import permits are incredibly easy to get. This is why export shipments usually have a minimum order in the thousands, the only way to make it worthwhile.

You can not export animals unless you are a licensed importer/exporter through the federal government. Handled by the department of interior, you must fill out a number of forms and apply for your license along with the application fee.

If obtained, once you have your license and you then want to export, you must file for cites paperwork in advance of each shipment containing cites animals. It typically takes 30-90 days minimum for the paperwork to go through and to get your cites documents.

You also have to have a vet health certificate accompany the animals that has to be obtained within 7 days of the shipment.

Once you have cites paperwork and a health certificate you then have to call fish and wildlife at your airport/your nearest major city (if you are already a known shipper with the airlines, if not you will require inspection and application process for that also) and set up an appointment for them to inspect your shipment and pay fees before you can get the animals on a flight going out.

It is a pain in the butt, especially if you have no experience with the process.