CITES Reform proposals

Overview

This consultation invites views on proposed regulatory reforms to the CITES implementing framework in the UK.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (“CITES”) is an international agreement that aims to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants is conducted legally and does not threaten the survival of the species. A key part of this is achieved through the issuing of permits for the import, (re-)export and introduction from the sea of species listed on the CITES Appendices.

The body of legislation that implements CITES in the UK largely derives from the European Union (EU) and was designed to administer a common EU-wide system. Under the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 (“REUL Act”) and assimilated powers that passed to the Secretary of State following EU Exit there is an opportunity to review CITES implementing legislation to ensure that it is clear, proportionate, and fit for purpose for the UK as a single CITES Party. This aligns with recommendations from the Corry Review, which advocates for regulations that deliver effective outcomes for both economic growth and nature recovery. The reform presents an opportunity to create a more coherent and effective regime that protects wildlife and supports sustainable trade. 

This consultation builds on a period of informal engagement with stakeholders affected by, and with an interest in, CITES. This includes traders and industry representatives, NGOs and individuals in the environmental sector and officials across the UK CITES regime. The consultation seeks formal feedback on the proposals and options developed to date to help identify a final package of reforms. Information and data on the costs and benefits of the proposed options for reforming the UK CITES legislation, and the impact on affected sectors, is a key outcome sought from this consultation. This will allow us to finalise a package of recommendations for consideration by Ministers. Subject to further analysis, some of the options outlined in the consultation may exceed the powers currently available to achieve them. Feedback on these will also be important in determining powers that may need to be sought in the future to effectively implement CITES in the UK. 

This consultation has been broken down into five substantive parts. Each of these parts is explained below and relate to a distinct proposal or group of proposals.  

Part one: general consultation questions 

This part contains general or demographic questions and seeks to gather information on responders to the consultation to support the analysis of the consultation responses.  

Part two: proposals to amend CITES assimilated legislation 

This part describes the package of draft proposals that have been developed following informal consultation with UK CITES Authorities, industry representatives and traders/individuals affected by CITES regulations, NGOs with expertise in the field and other interested stakeholders. The consultation questions have been designed to gather views on proposed options for amending the assimilated UK WTRs and any other options that should be considered. The proposals being consulted on aim to cover three broad areas: 

1. Better targeting of compliance burdens on industry to facilitate sustainable and legitimate trade in line with the aims of CITES.  

2. Improving conservation outcomes, including by ensuring the regime is delivering strong protections for species at risk from over-exploitation and illegal trade and providing appropriate tools to enforce against violations. 

3. Streamline CITES processes in the UK through automation and simplification, speeding up decision-making and reaching a full cost recovery model. 

Part three: proposed amendments to the CITES fees and charges framework 

This part describes proposed revisions to the CITES fees and charges framework. These revisions seek to achieve three outcomes:  

1. Achieving full cost recovery (“FCR”) - bringing the income generated by CITES fees and charges to FCR having last been updated by The Animal Health (Miscellaneous Fees) Regulations 2013,  

2. Simplifying the charging framework for CITES permits and certificates to support the full automation of payments into the new Pegasus service; and  

3. Implementing easements in fees and charges for CITES movements between Great Britain and Northern Ireland and vice versa, to achieve a similar outcome to, for example, the Movement Assistance Scheme. 

Part four: draft Statutory Guidance for COTES civil sanctions 

This part seeks views on the draft guidance on the use of civil sanctions included in Schedule 2 of the Control of Trade in Endangered Species Regulations 2018 (“COTES”) as required by Regulation 28 of Schedule 2. The guidance focuses on how civil sanctions would be used and the process by which this would occur.  

Why your views matter

The purpose of a public consultation  

The purpose of this consultation is to seek views on proposals and policy options for reforming the UK CITES domestic legislation, updating the associated fees and charges and draft statutory guidance on the use of civil sanctions under COTES 2018. This feedback will allow the development of final proposals for legislative reform as well as a final draft of the statutory civil sanction guidance (Part Four) prior to the commencement of their use. 

Audience  

This is a public consultation, and we welcome all views, particularly APHA customers, businesses that trade in CITES specimens or work with those who do, scientific institutions, academics, and NGOs. The questions are presented in a way to accommodate both a general audience and stakeholders with specialist knowledge on the regulation of trade in endangered species or CITES. 

Duration of the consultation

This consultation opened on 11 September 2025 and will run for 6 weeks, closing at 23:59 on 23 October 2025. This slightly reduced period is to responsibly manage the downstream delivery timelines and risks. We consider this reduction appropriate as this consultation builds on extensive engagement with industry representatives, NGOs and other interested stakeholders in the co-development of the proposals outlined in the consultation. Anyone that may need additional support to respond to the consultation within this timeframe should contact us via CITES.UKMA@defra.gov.uk.   

Please note, any responses sent by post must arrive at the above address by the closing date of the consultation 23 October 2025 to be considered. Any responses received after this date will not be included in the analysis.

At the end of the consultation period, we will summarise the responses and place the summary on the UK Government’s website. We will continue to engage with stakeholders once the consultation has closed.

Confidentiality and Data Protection Information

A summary of responses to this consultation will be published on the UK Government website at: www.gov.uk/defra. An annex to the consultation summary will list all organisations that responded but will not include personal names, addresses or other contact details. 

Defra may publish the content of your response to this consultation to make it available to the public without including personal details, such as your personal name and private contact details (home address, email address).

If you click on ‘Yes’ in response to the question asking if you would like anything in your response to be kept confidential, you are asked to state clearly what information you would like to be kept as confidential and explain your reasons for confidentiality. The reason for this is that information in response to this consultation may be subject to release to the public or other parties in accordance with access to information laws (these are primarily the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIRs), the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA)).

We have obligations, mainly under the EIRs, FOIA and DPA, to disclose information to particular recipients or to the public in certain circumstances. In view of this, your explanation of your reasons for requesting confidentiality for all or part of your response would help us balance these obligations for disclosure against any obligation of confidentiality. If we receive a request for the information that you have provided in your response to this consultation, we will take full account of your reasons for requesting confidentiality of your response, but we cannot guarantee that confidentiality can be maintained in all circumstances.

If you click on ‘No’ in response to the question asking if you would like anything in your response to be kept confidential, we will be able to release the content of your response to the public, but we will not make your personal name and private contact details publicly available.

Defra may share the information you provide in response to the consultation, including any personal data with external analysts, but only for the purposes of consultation response analysis and provision of a report of the summary of responses.

Compliance with the consultation principles

This consultation is being conducted in line with the Cabinet Office Consultation Principles and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/consultation-principles-guidance.

If you have any comments or complaints about the consultation process, please address them by e-mail to: consultation.coordinator@defra.gov.uk.