Thirteen mammal taxa met the high volume criterion in 2013 on the basis of at least one term/unit combination (Table 4.2). The top commodities exported directly from the EU by taxon were garments derived from the species Lynx rufus and L. canadensis (all reported without a source or purpose) and captive bred specimens of Callithrix jacchus exported for medicinal purposes. The top mammal commodities re-exported were specimens of Macaca fascicularis (sources C and F), hairs of Mustela sibirica (source W), and skins of Lycalopex griseus (source W). Notable quantities of ivory carvings of Loxodonta africana, Elephas maximus, and Elephantidae spp. were reported in 2013 compared to previous years; this trade is discussed further in Box 4.1.

Mammal species/term/unit combinations for which EU-reported (re )exports (combined direct and indirect trade) exceeded 1000 units in 2013, presented in descending order by quantity. *Indicates species that did not meet the high volume threshold in 2012.

EU-reported (re-)exports of elephant ivory carvings

A total of 11 156 carvings (terms ‘carvings’ and ‘ivory carvings’) of Loxodonta africana, Elephas maximus, and Elephantidae spp. (combined) were re-exported by the EU in 2013 (Figure 4.2.). This represent a 28% increase over the quantities reported re-exported in 2012 (8711 carvings). Of these, 2 444 carvings (22%; representing 47 export transactions) were reported in sets of 52 and are therefore likely to be pianos (with the quantity representing numbers of keys). Nearly all trade in 2013 was reported as either pre-Convention (source ‘O’; 66% of carvings) or source unknown (source ‘U; 33% of carvings). Aside from two shipments of 52 carvings each likely to be pianos, only three carvings were recorded as wild-sourced.

The number of pre-Convention carvings decreased from 8703 in 2012 to 7351 carvings in 2013 (4877 of Loxodonta africana, 1612 of Elephas maximas and 862 carvings of Elephantidae spp.). However, while only one elephant carving was reported as source unknown in 2012, in 2013, this increased to 3690 carvings (of which 2420 were reported as Loxodonta africana, 1123 as Elephas maximas and 147 as Elephantidae spp.).

All re-exports of carvings in 2013 were reported as Annex A, with 95% reported as re-exports from an unknown origin country. The majority (80%) of trade was for commercial purposes. The United Kingdom accounted for 88% of exports in 2012; the top trading partners were China (40%) and the United States of America (31%).

 

EU-reported (re-)exports of elephant carvings, by taxa, 2009-2013.

In addition to the trade in carvings recorded in number of items, the (re-)export of 1479 kg of carvings was also recorded, the vast majority of which (>99%) was pre-Convention; 96% of carvings re-exported by weight were exported by Belgium to Japan as Elephantidae spp.

Fifteen bird species and one hybrid met the high volume criterion in 2013 on the basis of at least one term/unit combination (Table 4.3). Commodities meeting this threshold were primarily direct commercial exports of live, captive-bred birds; all of which were direct exports.  The top commodities in trade by quantity were medicine and feathers (kg) of Cairina moschata, live Agapornis fischeri and live A. personatus.

Bird species/term/unit combinations for which EU-reported (re )exports exceeded 1000 units in 2013, presented in descending order by quantity. *Indicates taxa that did not meet the high volume threshold in 2012.

Twenty-six reptile taxa met the high volume criterion on the basis of at least one term/unit combination in 2013 (Table 4.4). Direct exports from the EU were primarily live, captive-bred specimens traded for commercial purposes (26 273 exported). Chamaeleo calyptratus accounted for 36% of direct exports of live reptiles in 2013, with Testudo hermanni also representing a notable proportion of these exports (31%). The principal importers of live reptiles (re-)exported by the EU were Hong Kong, SAR (30%) and the United States (28%).

Re-exports of taxa that met the high volume threshold primarily comprised skins or skin pieces.  Alligator mississippiensis was the main species (re-)exported and accounted for 27% of skins and 90% of re-exports of skin pieces. The principal importers of A. mississippiensis skins and skin pieces were Switzerland (51%) and Tunisia (45%) respectively, while the main EU re-exporters were Italy (49%) and France (99%), respectively.

RReptile species/term/unit combinations for which EU-reported (re )exports exceeded 1000 units in 2013, presented in descending order by quantity. *Indicates species that did not meet the high volume threshold in 2012.

No individual species exceeded the 1000 unit threshold; the principal species exported were Dendrobates tinctorius (508 live animals; 25%) and Ambystoma mexicanum (360 live animals; 18%), of which the majority were captive-bred and exported for commercial purposes. The majority (94%) of live amphibian exports from the EU were direct; the top EU exporter was the Netherlands (58%), while the principal importer was Japan (44%).

Five fish species and three hybrids (all sturgeon) met the high volume criterion on the basis of at least one term/unit combination (Table 4.5).  Virtually all high volume direct exports involved sturgeon commodities from captive sources, exported for commercial purposes; live eggs were the top commodities exported by quantity (1.8 million live eggs exported), while meat was the top reported term by weight. In total, 37 690 kg of caviar was (re-)exported in 2013; the vast majority was either directly exported (30 571 kg; 81%) or represented a re-export that originated in another EU Member State (3211 kg; 8.5%). The main countries of (re-)export were Italy (37%), France (30%) and Germany (24%). Caviar was primarily imported by the United States (25%), Japan (17%) and the Russian Federation (10%). Acipenser baerii was the top species exported as caviar, representing 37% of the trade in this commodity. A. baerii was also the top species exported as live eggs, representing 97% of trade in this commodity; most of which were direct exports from France to China (72%; 1.2 million live eggs).

Fish species/term/unit combinations for which EU-reported (re )exports exceeded 1000 units in 2013, presented in descending order by quantity. There were no new taxa that did not meet the high volume threshold in 2012.

Three invertebrate taxa met the high volume criterion on the basis of at least one term/unit combination in 2013 (Table 4.6). Hirudo medicinalis accounted for 71% of exports of live invertebrates reported by number, all of which were captive-bred and exported directly from the EU for commercial purposes; the top EU exporter of this species was France (86%), while the principal importer was the United States (80%).

Invertebrate species/term/unit combinations for which EU-reported (re-) exports exceeded 1000 units in 2013, presented in descending order by quantity. All trade was in live individuals. There were no new taxa that did not meet the high volume threshold in 2012.

Thirty-five plant taxa met the high volume criterion in 2013 (Table 4.7). This is an increase compared to the 15 taxa that met the criterion in 2012, primarily due to an increase in the number of taxa meeting the criterion based on exports of seeds. Taxa directly exported at high volumes in 2013 primarily comprised Appendix I cacti exported as artificially propagated seeds for commercial purposes; the majority were direct exports from Malta to either Japan (43%) or China (29%). Wild-sourced Galanthus (Galanthus elwesii and Galanthus woronowii combined) accounted for 97.9% of live plant re-exports from the EU in 2013. Re-exports of Galanthus elwesii alone accounted for 76.4%, all of which originated in Turkey and were re-exported via the Netherlands; the principal trading partner was Japan (81%).

Non-timber plant species/term/unit combinations for which EU-reported (re-)exports exceeded 1000 units in 2013, presented in descending order by quantity. *Indicates species that did not meet the high volume threshold in 2012.

Six individual timber species met the high volume criterion on the basis of at least one term/unit combination in 2013 (Table 4.8); all of the trade originated from outside the EU and nearly all of this trade was wild-sourced. The parts and derivatives meeting this criterion were veneer, extract, oil and derivatives. Pericopsis elata accounted for 57% of the trade in veneer reported as m², and all of the trade in veneer reported as m³, all of which originated in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The main importer was the United States of America for m² (76%) and m³ (100%).

Timber species/term/unit combinations for which EU-reported (re )exports exceeded 1000 units in 2013, presented in descending order by quantity. *Indicates species that did not meet the high volume criterion in 2012.