Policy on Giant Panda Permits

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces a policy on the issuance of permits for the import of live giant pandas to clarify what information the Service considers in making the permit findings under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species and the U.S. Endangered Species Act and to assist persons in filing a complete application. The policy is intended to complement, and not replace, the current permit procedures and issuance criteria in the regulations. The goal of this policy is that all imports directly benefit panda conservation through a coordinated effort that supports China's National Plan, National Survey, or Captive Breeding Plan. Based on current information on the status of pandas and their habitat, the policy emphasizes research and captive-breeding activities needed to ensure the captive population becomes self-sustaining and to recover panda populations in the wild. Thus, all monies used in a loan agreement or raised as a result of a panda import should fund giant panda conservation efforts, with a significant portion being used for priority in-situ conservation projects in China. Display of a panda would be allowed as an ancillary component that would not interfere with the research or captive-breeding activities. It is unlikely that the Service would be able to make the necessary findings to issue a permit to import animals removed from the wild after December 31, 1996. The policy also addresses the transfer of live pandas within the United States and the import or export of tissue samples. The policy supersedes previous policy. The suspension of the review and processing of permit applications to import live giant pandas is now lifted.