In order to export Australian native animal and plant specimens and/or CITES listed specimens for commercial purposes, the specimens must come from an approved program such as an approved captive breeding program.
Commercial trade in CITES Appendix I listed animals is prohibited, unless the animals are captive-bred and sourced from a captive breeding operation that has been registered with the CITES Secretariat. The CITES Secretariat maintains a list of registered operations.
Commercial trade in live native mammals, reptiles, birds and amphibians is prohibited.
Exporters sourcing specimens from an approved program must also have export permit issued by the Department.
Approved captive breeding programs
Captive breeding programs currently approved under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 are listed below. Conditions of approval, species covered and period of approval, are specified in the individual approval notices.
| State | Program name | Decision date | Review due | Species (follow link for complete species list) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Programs approved for individual operations | ||||
| Qld | Silke Weyland | 26 October 2023 | 26 October 2028 |
|
| Qld | Aratinga Aviaries | 19 July 2023 | 19 July 2028 |
|
| ACT | Paul Hailes | October 2019 | September 2024 |
|
| ACT | Terrence Barton | May 2020 | May 2025 |
|
| NSW | Ecogrow Environment Pty Ltd | December 2022 | December 2027 |
|
| Qld | Australian Insect Farm | June 2020 | June 2025 |
|
| Qld | Butterfly Encounters | April 2018 | April 2028 |
|
| Qld | Silke Weyland | November 2018 | November 2023 |
|
| SA | Venom Supplies | 1 September 2022 | 31 August 2027 | Venom Supplies (PDF 211 KB) | (DOCX 373 KB) |
| Tas | Seahorse Australia | April 2022 | April 2027 | Seahorse Australia (PDF 211 KB) | (DOCX 373 KB) |
| WA | Broome Crocodile Farm | October 2017 | October 2022 |
|
| WA | Perth Marine | July 2020 | July 2025 |
|
| Programs approved for state licensed operations | ||||
| NSW | State licensing regime for emus | April 2020 | April 2025 |
|
| Qld | State licensing regime for emus | April 2020 | April 2025 |
|
| SA | State licensing regime for emus | April 2020 | April 2025 |
|
| Tas | State licensing regime for emus | April 2020 | April 2025 |
|
| Vic | State licensing regime for emus | April 2020 | April 2025 |
|
| WA | State licensing regime for emus | April 2020 | April 2025 |
|