19 CFR 12.26 — Importations of wild animals, fish, amphibians, reptiles, mollusks, and crustaceans; prohibited and endangered and threatened species; designated ports of entry; permits required.

(a)(1) The importation into the United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the territories and possessions of the United States of live specimens of: (i) Any species of the so-called “flying fox” or fruit bat of the genus Pteropus; (ii) Any species of mongoose or meerkat of the genera Atilax, Cynictis, Helogale, Herpestes, Ichneumia, Mungos, and Suricata; (iii) Any species of European rabbit the genus Oryctolagus; (iv) Any species of Indian wild dog, red dog, or dhole of the genus Cuon; (v) Any species of multimammate rat or mouse of the genus Mastomys; (vi) Any live specimens or egg of the species of so-called “pink starling” or “rosy pastor” Sturnus roseus; (vii) The species of dioch (including the subspecies black-fronted, red-billed, or Sudan dioch) Quelea quelea; (viii) Any species of Java sparrow, Padda oryzivora; (ix) The species of red-whiskered bulbul, Pycnonotus jocosus; (x) Any live fish or viable eggs of the family Clariidae; (xi) Any other species of wild mammals, wild birds, fish (including mollusks and crustacea), amphibians, reptiles, or the offspring or eggs of any of the foregoing which the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe by regulations to be injurious to human beings, to the interest of agriculture, horticulture, forestry, or to wildlife or the wildlife resources of the United States, is prohibited, except as may be authorized by the issuance of a permit by the Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC 20240, or his authorized representative. If any such prohibited specimen is imported, or if any specie or subspecie of other live or dead fish or wildlife, including any parts, products, or eggs thereof, appearing on the Endangered Species List published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is imported, Customs release of the prohibited specimen or endangered fish or wildlife shall be refused unless there has been issued and presented in connection with entry a proper U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service permit authorizing the import transaction. In the absence of such permit, injurious specimens prohibited entry shall be required to be immediately exported or destroyed. Changes in injurious species and endangered species or subspecies which are prohibited or restricted importation may be published from time to time in 50 CFR part 13—Importation of Wildlife or Eggs Thereof or in part 17—Conservation of Endangered Species and Other Fish or Wildlife. Unreleased species or subspecies of live or dead endangered fish or wildlife, including parts, products, or eggs thereof, shall remain under detention subject to seizure and delivery to an appropriate regional director or other agent of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for disposition as appropriate pursuant to 50 CFR part 17. (2) Fish and eggs of salmonids of the fish family Salmonidae are prohibited entry into the United States for any purpose unless such importations are by direct shipment, accompanied by the signed certification of a qualified fish pathologist in substantially the form as prescribed in 50 CFR 13.7. The following are excepted from the certification requirements: (i) Salmon landed in North America and brought into the United States for processing or sale; (ii) Any salmonid caught in the wild in North America under a sport or a commercial fishing license; and (iii) Fish or eggs of the family Salmonidae when processed or prepared in accordance with 50 CFR 13.7(c), or otherwise exempted from the requirement of certification. (3) Regulations (50 CFR part 17) require the importer or his agent to file a Declaration for the Importation of Fish or Wildlife, unless it is an import transaction exempted from the requirement by 50 CFR part 13 or part 17. Such declaration on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Form 3-177, available to importers through Customs ports of entry, shall be filed with the appropriate Customs officer at the port of entry conducting the actual Customs clearance and release of the declared fish, wild mammal, or bird, amphibian, reptile, mollusk, crustacean, or dead body or egg thereof. The declaration on Form 3-177 shall show the common and scientific names, number, and country of origin of all species or subspecies declared, designate and identify any species listed on the U.S. List of Endangered Foreign Fish and Wildlife, 50 CFR part 17, appendix A, and indicate whether any species is subject to laws and regulations in any foreign country regarding its taking, transportation, or sale. See paragraph (g) of this section for special documentation requirements. (4) Federal agencies, subject to requirements in paragraph (a)(2) of this section, may import solely for their own use live wildlife except migratory birds, or their eggs, without a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, upon filing the declaration on Form 3-177. Importation of bald or golden eagles, or their eggs is prohibited. (5) Customs entry for consumption or bonded warehousing of fish and wildlife, as defined in 50 CFR 17.2 (e) and (f), intended for importation into the United States, or admission into a foreign trade zone, shall be filed at a port of entry among those designated for Customs entry in 50 CFR part 17, appendix B. However, Customs entry for consumption or bonded warehousing of shipments subject to emergency diversion or otherwise authorized under regulations or by permit issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service pursuant to 50 CFR part 17, appendices B and C, may be filed for examination and release at the ports of entry so named or permitted, but no consumption or bonded warehouse entry shall be filed or accepted at an undesignated port for any endangered specie or subspecie permitted importation pursuant to 50 CFR 17.12 except in the case of an emergency diversion of live endangered fish or wildlife accepted for such entry in accordance with item 2(b) of 50 CFR part 17, appendix B. Importations of fish and wildlife subject to regulations of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service which arrive from abroad at any place in the United States not designated as an authorized port for Customs entry, unless occurring under conditions or circumstances in which Customs entry for consumption or bonded warehousing and final clearance has been authorized by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regulations or permit, may be entered only for immediate transportation without appraisement for movement under Customs bond to one of the designated ports of entry. Customs entry, release, and delivery of any shipment of shellfish and fishery products defined in 50 CFR 17.2(j) imported for commercial purposes is authorized at any port of entry, except insofar as such items include any species or subspecies which appears on the Endangered Species List in 50 CFR part 17, appendix A. (b) Permits are required for the importation of wild animals and birds as follows: (1) Wild birds protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703 through 711) and the regulations promulgated thereunder (50 CFR part 10), may be imported from foreign countries for scientific, propagating, or other limited purposes only under permits issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, United States Department of the Interior, Washington, DC, 20240. State game departments, municipal game farms or parks, and public museums, zoological parks or societies, and scientific or educational institutions may import migratory birds without a permit. Such migratory birds, when imported from Mexico, must be accompanied by Mexican export permits (50 CFR 16.3 and 16.5). (2) Game mammals (antelopes, mountain sheep, deer, bears, peccaries, squirrels, rabbits, and hares), protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703 through 711), dead or alive, or their parts or products, must be accompanied by Mexican export permits (50 CFR 15.3) when imported from Mexico. (3) Wild ruminants (all animals which chew the cud, such as cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats, deer, antelopes, camels, llamas, and giraffes) and swine (various varieties of wild hogs), except from Canada and certain northern States of Mexico may be imported only under a permit from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250. Such permits must be obtained before the animals are shipped from the country of exportation. All wild ruminants and swine must be inspected at designated ports of entry by veterinarians of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services, United States Department of Agriculture. (4) Psittacine birds, which include all birds commonly known as parrots, Amazons, African grays, cockatoos, macaws, parrotlets, beebees, parakeets, lovebirds, lories, lorikeets, and all other birds of the order Psittaciformes, when destined for a zoological park or medical research institution without having had prior confinement and treatment abroad at an approved treatment center, and psittacine birds taken out of the United States but inadmissible under paragraph (c) of this section, may be imported when accompanied by a permit issued by the Surgeon General. Application for such a permit may be made to the Chief, Foreign Quarantine Program, National Communicable Disease Center, U.S. Public Health Service, Atlanta, Ga. 30333, or to a Public Health Service quarantine station established at a port of entry in the United States. (5) Ducks, geese, swans, turkeys, pigeons, doves, pheasants, grouse, partridges, quail, guinea fowl, and pea fowl, except from Canada, may be imported only under a permit from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250. Such permits must be obtained before the birds are shipped from the country of origin. Such birds from Canada must be accompanied by a certificate issued by a Canadian Government veterinarian. All such birds must be inspected at designated ports of entry by veterinarians of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services, United States Department of Agriculture. (c) Psittacine birds as defined in paragraph (b)(4) of this section, not to exceed two such birds by members of a family comprising a single household in any 12-month period, may be imported under prescribed conditions (see 42 CFR 71.164(e)) without permit and without prior confinement and treatment, to be kept as pets by the owner, who will be required to comply with the Foreign Quarantine Regulations of the U.S. Public Health Service. Birds taken out of the United States and being returned may be admitted, without permit, upon full compliance with prescribed conditions of those regulations for admission of birds imported as pets. No such birds shall be released until the importer has complied with applicable requirements of the Public Health regulations. (d) Cats, dogs, and monkeys are subject to the Foreign Quarantine Regulations of the United States Public Health Service, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Washington, D.C. Such animals shall not be released until the Public Health regulations are complied with by the importer. (e) If a shipment contains migratory birds for which a permit is required by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the Department of the Interior, and such permit is not at hand when the birds arrive, an examination thereof shall be made at once by the port director and any duties estimated to be due shall be collected. A stipulation shall be filed with the port director within 24 hours of the entry to produce the necessary permit within 30 days from the date of entry, whereupon final liquidation shall be suspended until the permit is produced or the 30-day period expires. The shipment may be immediately released if a bond is filed with the port director on Customs Form 301, containing the bond conditions set forth in § 113.62 of this chapter, in an amount equal to the entered value plus estimated duties. If the bond conditions are violated the port director shall issue a claim for liquidated damages under the bond. In lieu of filing a bond the merchandise may be left in Customs custody at the risk and expense of the importer pending issuance of the permit. (f) If the permit referred to in paragraph (e) of this section is refused by the Fish and Wildlife Service, or if the permit is not produced within the said 30 days, an authorized CBP official shall promptly recall the property, if delivered under bond, and shall require its immediate exportation at the expense of the importer or consignee. (g)(1) All import shipments of fish and wildlife subject to the regulations or permit requirements of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, published pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, 16 U.S.C. 1531, or other statutory authority, shall be subject to examination or inspection by that agency's officer serving the port of entry, for determination as to permissible release or such other disposition as he may direct. Customs officers performing examinations of such fish and wildlife in accordance with regulations of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 50 CFR part 10 and parts 13 through 17, shall release shipments only upon submission by the importer of evidence sufficient to establish compliance with those regulations, any applicable permit requirements, and compliance with applicable identification and package or container marking requirements as specified by 50 CFR 17.6(a) and 17.9. In case of doubt as to whether fish, birds, or other wildlife belong to prohibited or endangered species or subspecies or whether an entry permit is required, or in case of suspicion on the part of officers of the Customs that the species sought to be entered are prohibited or endangered species or subspecies imported under other names or descriptions, the importation shall be refused Customs release, and the importer shall be responsible for concluding arrangements acceptable to the regional director or other agent of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for proper handling, custody, and care, at the importer's expense and risk, of the unreleased fish, birds, or other wildlife. No Customs disposition of the importation shall be concluded pending the determination by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of the true nature of the species or subspecies. In case of refusal or neglect of the importer or consignee, or agent of either, to have the identity so established, final disposition of the importation shall be required as determined by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In addition to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Form 3-177, required to be filed as prescribed in 50 CFR 17.4 upon entry of importations of fish and wildlife, entrants shall present appropriate foreign export permits, other acceptable foreign documentary evidence of lawful taking, transportation, or sale, or appropriate American consular certificates upon importation of fish and wildlife species or subspecies subject to such documentation requirements of 50 CFR 17.4 (c) and (d). (2) Any antique article imported under § 10.53(g) of this chapter shall be entered at one of the following ports: Boston, Massachusetts New York, New York Baltimore, Maryland, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Miami, Florida, San Juan, Puerto Rico New Orleans, Louisiana Houston, Texas Los Angeles, California San Francisco, California Anchorage, Alaska, Honolulu, Hawaii O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois (h) All invoices of animals and birds shall specify the species covered thereby and the number of each species. In the event of the return to the port director of any importation under the bond given under paragraph (e) of this section, if the number and species of birds does not correspond with the description stated in the invoice and if no satisfactory explanation of any discrepancy is furnished, a claim for liquidated damages shall be issued under the bond. (i) The privilege of entry for immediate transportation granted by section 552, Tariff Act of 1930, shall not be allowed for importations of fish, birds, or other wildlife which are confirmed at the port of first arrival or discharge to be injurious prohibited species, or which require permits issued prior to importation, or which are subject to quarantine regulations or inspection at the ports of first arrival or discharge or other specified place of veterinary inspection. However, entry for immediate transportation properly is allowed for any importation of fish, birds, or other wildlife which at the place of first arrival or discharge is not confirmed to be an injurious prohibited specie and which, following compliance with any applicable quarantine regulations or required veterinary inspection, is being transported by means of an in-bond movement to a port of entry designated in 50 CFR part 17, appendix B, for Customs entry (see paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section). Ports of designated entry, inspection, quarantine, and related enforcement procedures covering certain animals and poultry and certain animal and poultry products imported into the United States are regulated by requirements and standards prescribed in regulations of the Secretary of Agriculture, Department of Agriculture (see 9 CFR parts 92-96; 19 CFR 12.8 and 12.24). (j) Wild animals and birds shall be imported under humane and healthful conditions, due regard being given to the accommodations and facilities necessary for the species transported. (k) When any Customs officer has good reason to believe that wild animals or birds have been imported under inhumane or unhealthful conditions in violation of 18 U.S.C. 42, an immediate investigation shall be made to ascertain whether they have in fact been transported under such conditions. The investigation shall determine the provisions made on the vessel or other conveyance for the accommodation of the animals or birds, the suitability of the boxes, cages, stalls, etc., the space, ventilation, and protection from the elements accorded the animals or birds, the facilities for cleaning, feeding, watering, bedding, and such other services as may be required for the species imported. The investigation shall also determine, the physical condition of such animals or birds and the ratio of dead, crippled, diseased, or starving animals or birds. If necessary, officers of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services, or Fish and Wildlife Service, or other officers or experts, may be called upon to assist customs officers in the matter. (l) Unless the port director is satisfied that the provisions of 18 U.S.C. 42 have not been violated, he shall report the matter to the United States attorney for appropriate action. [28 FR 14710, Dec. 31, 1963] Editorial Note: For Federal Register citations affecting § 12.26, see the List of CFR Sections Affected, which appears in the Finding Aids section of the printed volume and at www.govinfo.gov.

Source: eCFR (Title 19, 2025 Annual Edition). Regulatory text is a U.S. government work. Verify against the official eCFR before relying on it. Not legal advice.

§ 12.26 Importations of wild animals, fish, amphibians, reptiles, mollusks, and crustaceans; prohibited and endangered and threatened species; designated ports of entry; permits required.