U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Traveling Abroad withYour Pet BirdThe Wild Bird Conservation Act (Act), asignificant step in international conserva-tion efforts to protect exotic birdssubject to trade, became effective onOctober 23, 1992.

The Act focuses on bird species listed inthe Appendices to the Convention onInternational Trade in EndangeredSpecies (CITES). Since most exotic petbirds (including parrots, cockatoos, andmacaws but excepting budgerigars andcockatiels) are species listed underCITES, most are affected by the Act.The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service(Service) recently issued regulationsimplementing the Act that provide forpermits to allow foreign travel with yourpet bird (domestic travel and sales arenot affected). If you plan to take your petbird with you on foreign travel, or yourresidence has been outside the UnitedStates for a year and you plan to travel tothe United States with a pet bird, youwill need to have a permit before youtravel. These new regulations are inaddition to any other existing require-ments of CITES, the EndangeredSpecies Act, and other applicablestatutes. If you are unsure whetherthese regulations apply to you, contactthe Service’s Office of ManagementAuthority at the address provided.

Leaving the United States with YourPet BirdTo ensure that you will be allowed tobring your pet bird back into the UnitedStates from travel abroad, you will needto take the following steps before youleave:1. Obtain a valid permit from the Office ofManagement Authority. Applications forpermits must be received in that office atleast 60 days in advance of anticipatedtravel.2. Have your permit validated by a Fishand Wildlife Service Wildlife Inspectorbefore you leave the United States.

(Instructions will be provided on thepermit.)3. Take a copy of your validated permitwith you. This copy must be presentedwhen you re-enter the United States withyour pet.4. Find out whether the country(ies) youplan to visit have additional import andexport requirements and restrictions. Ata minimum, a re-export certificatefrom the country(ies) visited will berequired. The Office of ManagementAuthority can provide you with a contactaddress, phone or fax number for CITESpermits offices in other countries.

There are no restrictions on the length oftime you may travel abroad or on thenumber of birds you may take with you.

Traveling to the United States withYour Pet BirdIf your pet bird was acquired outside theUnited States or exported abroad fromthe United States without a CITESpermit, and you have resided outside theUnited States constantly for 1 year, youmay import a maximum of two pet birdsper person, per year, if all applicablerequirements have been met prior totheir arrival in the United States.Following are the steps you need to takebefore you leave for the United States:1. Obtain a valid permit from the Office ofManagement Authority. Applications forpermits must be received in that office atleast 60 days in advance of anticipatedtravel.2. Obtain documented evidence that youhave resided outside the United Statescontinuously for a minimum of 1 year.3. Obtain documented evidence that eachbird was acquired legally.4. Obtain all other necessary permitsfrom the country(ies) of export, includinga CITES permit.

Note: The Act restricts the number ofpet birds individuals may import into the

International AffairsOffice of Management Authority4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Room 700Arlington, VA 22203703/358/2095703/358-2281 faxr9ia_oma@fws.govinternational.fws.gov

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Servicewww.fws.gov

October 1999

United States annually. However, if yourbird is one of the following species you donot need a WBCA permit to import yourpet .

Approved Captive-Bred SpeciesOrder Falconiiformes:Buteo buteo (European buzzard)Order Columbiformes:Columba livia(Rock dove)Order Psittaciformes:Agapornis personata (Masked lovebird)Agapornis roseicollis (Peach-facedlovebird)Aratinga jandaya (Jendaya conure)Barnardius barnardi (Mallee ringneckparrot)Bolborhynchus lineola (Lineolatedparakeet-blue form)Bolborhynchus lineola (Lineolatedparakeet-yellow form)Bolborhynchus lineola (Lineolatedparakeet-white form)Cyanoramphus auriceps (Yellow-fronted parakeet)Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae (Red-fronted parakeet)Forpus coelestis (Pacific parrotlet-lutinoform)Forpus coelestis (Pacific parrotlet-yellow form)Forpus coelestis (Pacific parrotlet-blueform)Forpus coelestis (Pacific parrotlet-cinnamon form)Melopsittacus undulatus (Budgerigar)Neophema bourkii (Bourke’s parrot)Neophema chrysostoma (Blue-wingedparrot)Neophema elegans (Elegant parrot)Neophema pulchella* (Turquoiseparrot)Neophema splendida* (Scarlet-chestedparrot)Nymphicus hollandicus (Cockatiel)Platycercus adelaide (Adelaide rosella)Platycercus adscitus (Pale-headedrosella)Platycercus elegans (Crimson rosella)Platycercus eximius (Eastern rosella)Platycercus icterotis (Western (stanley)rosella)Platycercus venustus (Northernrosella)Polytelis alexandrae (Princess parrot)Polytelis anthopeplus (Regent parrot)Polytelis swainsonii (Superb parrot)Psephotus chrysopterygius* (Golden-shouldered parakeet)Psephotus haematonotus (Red-rumpedparakeet)

Psephotus varius (Mulga parakeet)Psittacula eupatria (Alexandrineparakeet-blue form)Psittacula eupatria (Alexandrineparakeet-lutino form)Psittacula krameri manillensis (Indianringneck parakeet)Purpureicephalus spurius (Red-cappedparrot)Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus (Scaly-breasted lorikeet)Order Passeriformes:Aegintha temporalis (Red-browed finch)Aidemosyne modesta (Cherry finch)Chloebia gouldiae (Gouldian finch)Emblema guttata (Diamond sparrow)Emblema picta (Painted finch)Lonchura castaneothorax (Chestnut-breasted finch)Lonchura domestica (Society(Bengalese) finch)Lonchura pectoralis (Pictorella finch)Neochmia ruficauda (Star finch)Poephila acuticauda (Long-tailedgrassfinch)Poephila bichenovii (Double-barredfinch)Poephila cincta (Parson finch)Poephila guttata (Zebra finch)Poephila personata (Masked finch)Serinus canaria (common canary)

Applications and AdditionalInformationPermit applications (Form 3-200) and anyother information you may need areavailable from the Office of ManagementAuthority (telephone 703.358.2104 or Fax703.358.2281).

Warning: The Department of Agricul-ture has disease quarantine require-ments for birds entering the UnitedStates. You can obtain information aboutquarantine requirements by contactingthe Department of Agriculture at301.734.8364.