Government Decision: Long-term import restriction on salamanders

On May 2nd PIJAC Canada received the following notification from Environment Canada regarding the import restriction on salamanders.  Please review and help us spread the word by passing the information along to your colleagues in the business and hobby fields.

Further to our discussions this past year on salamanders and the deadly fungal disease, Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal), I am writing to inform you that the Government of Canada will be implementing a long-term import restriction on salamanders, effective May 12, 2018, to replace the temporary import restriction expiring on May 11, 2018.  The new restriction, which will be implemented through an amendment to Schedule II of the Wild Animal and Plant Trade Regulations (WAPTR), was approved by the Governor in Council on April 20, 2018 and was published in the Canada Gazette, Part II, on May 2, 2018.

The purpose of the amendment is to continue to prevent the introduction of Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) into Canadian ecosystems by prohibiting the import of all species of the order Caudata (such as salamanders, newts and mudpuppies), including their eggs, sperm, tissue culture or embryos, or any part or derivative, unless authorized by a permit issued by Environment and Climate Change Canada.  

A new permitting policy will also come into effect with the new regulation on May 12, 2018.  This policy, based on the best available science, will identify two categories of salamander import – low and high risk.  A simplified permitting process will be available for salamander imports in the low risk category. Such imports include: extracted DNA, specimens in specific preservation agents, and species not originating from, or transiting through, Eurasia.  Specimens not meeting these criteria will be categorized as high risk, and additional information and measures will be required from applicants.  This policy may evolve as new scientific data about Bsal transmission and species susceptibility emerges.

We would be pleased if you could convey this information to others to help ensure awareness and compliance.  

To learn more, please visit the Canada Gazette http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2018/2018-05-02/html/sor-dors81-eng.html  Additional details, including the new permitting policy and application forms, will be available on the Government of Canada’s website on May 12, 2018.  

If you have any questions or concerns about the import restriction on salamanders, please contact us at ec.enviroinfo.ec@canada.ca.

Thank you for your support and engagement, as well as for your continued interest in the protection of Canadian wildlife.