The Act focuses on bird species listed in the Appendices to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Since most exotic pet birds (including parrots, cockatoos, and macaws but excepting budgerigars and cockatiels) are species listed under CITES, most are affected by the Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) recently issued regulations implementing the Act that provide for permits to allow foreign travel with your pet bird (domestic travel and sales are not affected). If you plan to take your pet bird with you on foreign travel, or your residence has been outside the United States for a year and you plan to travel to the United States with a pet bird, you will need to have a permit before you travel. These new regulations are in addition to any other existing requirements of CITES, the Endangered Species Act, and other applicable statutes. If you are unsure whether these regulations apply to you, contact the Service's Office of Management Authority at the address provided.

Leaving the United States with Your Pet Bird
To ensure that you will be allowed to bring your pet bird back into the United States from travel abroad, you will need to take the following steps before you leave:

1. Obtain a valid permit from the Office of Management Authority. Applications for permits must be received in that office at least 60 days in advance of anticipated travel.

2. Have your permit validated by a Fish and Wildlife Service Wildlife Inspector before you leave the United States. (Instructions will be provided on the permit.)

4. Find out whether the country(ies) you plan to visit have additional import and export requirements and restrictions. At a minimum, a re-export certificate from the country(ies) visited will be required. The Office of Management Authority can provide you with a contact address, phone or fax number for CITES permits offices in other countries.

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

Traveling to the United States with Your Pet Bird
If your pet bird was acquired outside the United States or exported abroad from the United States without a CITES permit, and you have resided outside the United States constantly for 1 year, you may import a maximum of two pet birds per person, per year, if all applicable requirements have been met prior to their arrival in the United States. Following are the steps you need to take before you leave for the United States:

1. Obtain a valid permit from the Office of Management Authority. Applications for permits must be received in that office at least 60 days in advance of anticipated travel.

2. Obtain documented evidence that you have resided outside the United States continuously for a minimum of 1 year.

3. Obtain documented evidence that each bird was acquired legally.

4. Obtain all other necessary permits from the country(ies) of export, including a CITES permit.

Note: The Act restricts the number of pet birds individuals may import into the United States annually.

Applications and Additional Information
Permit applications (Form 3-200) and any other information you may need are available from the Office of Management Authority (telephone 703-358-2104 or Fax 703-358-2281).

Warning: The Department of Agriculture has disease quarantine requirements for birds entering the United States. You can obtain information about quarantine requirements by contacting the Department of Agriculture at 301-734-8364.

International Affairs
Office of Management Authority
4401 N. Fairfax Drive
Room 700
Arlington, VA 22203
703-358-2095
703-358-2281
email: r9ia_oma@fws.gov
international.fws.gov