Which documents are required to legally export a falcon to the Gulf

Why this dossier

The peregrine falcon is listed in CITES Appendix I (Annex A of the EU regulation). Any sale between a Western breeder and a Gulf buyer is therefore international trade in a protected species, governed by a precise set of permits. Getting the order of steps wrong, or missing a document, can hold the bird at customs or expose both parties to prosecution. This dossier brings together the documents to gather, in the order the authorities require them.

The rule that overrides all others

For an Appendix I species, the destination country's import permit must be obtained before the origin country's export permit is issued. A breeder who sends a bird without waiting for import confirmation takes a real risk: the export permit can be refused after the fact, or the bird can end up stuck on arrival with no valid authorisation.

The five documents common to every country

CITES export permit (or re-export certificate), issued by the management authority of the country of origin.
CITES import permit, issued by the destination country.
Proof of legal origin, often called a captive-bred/captive-born certificate (within the European Union, the Intra-Community Certificate attests to this for an Annex A specimen).
Health and veterinary certificates, attesting to the bird's good health and its compliance with the importing country's quarantine requirements.
Customs and transport documents: customs declaration, commercial invoice, bill of sale, air waybill compliant with IATA standards for live animal transport.

What the Gulf adds on top

The Gulf Cooperation Council countries apply CITES with particular rigour, for a simple reason: they are the world's leading markets for hunting falcons. Three requirements are added to the five documents above:

Strict individual traceability: a seamless closed ring and/or a microchip, whose number must match exactly the one recorded on the permits.
A prior import permit issued by the relevant local ministry (the Environment) before the bird leaves the country of origin.
Health testing and quarantine, with official veterinary certificates of freedom from specific diseases (avian influenza, Newcastle disease), endorsed by the destination country's state veterinary services.

Several Gulf countries also have their own circulation document for the bird once it has arrived in their territory (see the dossier on the falcon passport and country-by-country authorities).

Who issues what, on the breeder's side

The document that raises the most questions is the captive-bred certificate: it is not the same document as the CITES export permit, and both are required. In Germany, for example, the Bundesamt für Naturschutz handles CITES export/import permits through an online portal, but it is the Länder (regional authorities) that issue, in parallel, the intra-EU commercialisation certificate needed for a captive-bred Annex A falcon.

Timeframes to plan for

The stated timeframes vary considerably from one country to another and, in several cases, are not officially published. As an order of magnitude, where the information is public: around 30 days in the United Kingdom (Animal and Plant Health Agency), also 30 days in the Czech Republic, at least 60 days in the United States (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), 40 days in Canada. For France, no timeframe is published by the authorities; direct contact with Infos Douane Service gets a written answer on the applicable procedure within 5 working days.

It is better to plan for a generous timeframe (two to three months between the first step and the bird's actual departure) than to build a sale schedule around an optimistic estimate.

What this dossier does not replace

This list is a reference baseline, not legal advice. The precise requirements (forms, costs, additional documents) change and differ depending on the exact species, the country of origin and the destination country. Before any transaction, verification must be made directly with the CITES authority of the country of origin and of the destination country.