Agreement on Humane Trapping Standards

The Agreement on International Humane Trapping Standards (AIHTS) establishes the required standards for approval and certification of animal trapping devices.

History

In 1991, following extensive pressure from the anti-fur lobby, the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

(EU) passed Regulation 3254/91, which bans the import of wild fur products derived from 13 species into the EU from any country, unless the use of the leghold trap is prohibited in said country, or trapping methods used in that country meet internationally-agreed humane trapping standards. EU Regulation 3254/91 remains in place in the EU today .

Following several years of negotiations, the EU agreed to two humane trapping agreements in 1997. The Agreement on International Humane Trapping Standards (AIHTS) was reached with the EU, Canada and Russia;
a separate agreement was reached between the EU and United States due to US regulatory requirements. Both Agreements incorporate the same standards. The EU Council ratified them in 1998.

All countries are encouraged to apply the AIHTS.

Under these agreements, all traps must be tested against the standards set out in the AIHTS and, if they conform, must be certified by a designated competent authority. If they fail to meet the Standards, they must be replaced with traps that do.

Status of the AIHTS

The AIHTS was signed by Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

and the EU in December 1997 and by the Russian Federation in April 1998. A separate bilateral agreement with equivalent standards was signed between the US and Europe in 1998. Both agreements are legally binding on all signatories.

The Russian parliament ratified the AIHTS for implementation on July 22, 2008. The European Parliament

European Parliament

The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

, as of 2008, has yet to approve a Directive to implement the Agreement within its member countries. Canada has been implementing the AIHTS on a bilateral basis (with the EU), in good faith, since the Canadian government ratified it in 1999. The USA has been progressing on implementing its best management practices under its bilateral EU agreement.

Main points of the Agreement

Under the AIHTS, the parties (currently, Canada, EU and Russia) guarantee not to impose trade restrictions on fur

Fur

Fur is a synonym for hair, used more in reference to non-human animals, usually mammals; particularly those with extensives body hair coverage. The term is sometimes used to refer to the body hair of an animal as a complete coat, also known as the "pelage". Fur is also used to refer to animal...

products from listed species from other signatory countries. The Agreement establishes procedures for settling disagreements and does not affect the right to resort to WTO (World Trade Organization). The Agreement on International Humane Trapping Standards applies to listed species (total of 19) regardless of the reason for trapping, including:

Wildlife management
Wildlife management
Wildlife management attempts to balance the needs of wildlife with the needs of people using the best available science. Wildlife management can include game keeping, wildlife conservation and pest control...

purposes, including pest control
Obtaining fur, skin, or meat
The capture of mammals for conservation
Conservation biology
Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...

The AIHTS establishes criteria for rating traps by species and by method of use. Killing traps are rated according to the time to loss of consciousness. Restraining traps are rated according to injuries indicative of poor welfare. Ratings form part of the trap approval process.

The AIHTS establishes approval and certification

Certification

Certification refers to the confirmation of certain characteristics of an object, person, or organization. This confirmation is often, but not always, provided by some form of external review, education, assessment, or audit...

standards for all types of traps and requires that traps be certified as meeting the AIHTS, initially by fall 2007. The Agreement prohibits the use of restraining and killing traps that are not certified in accordance with the Standards. However, it does not prevent individuals from constructing and using traps that comply with designs approved by the competent authorities. (Competent authorities are legal bodies that regulate trapping, including governments, government mandated agencies and those Aboriginal

Indigenous peoples

Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....

groups with authority to regulate wildlife management activities.) Traps not meeting the Agreement Standards must be phased out by the signatories. If there are no traps certified for a particular species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

, all traps legal for use for that species can continue to be used until certified traps become available and provided research continues to search for traps that meet the Agreement Standards.

Other points in the AIHTS

Under the Agreement, parties are instructed to use their best efforts to ensure appropriate processes are in place for permitting the use of traps and for enforcing trap legislation

Legislation

Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it...

within their jurisdiction

Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...

. It is also recommended that parties have in place trapper training in humane devices/methods. The Agreement also advocates incorporating ISO testing procedures into the trap certification process.
Parties of the AIHTS (Canada, Russian Federation and EU) are required to meet on an ongoing basis. Delegates to these meetings make up the Joint Management Committee (JMC), established under the terms of the AIHTS to administer the Agreement. The US is a permanent observer on the JMC.

Objectives of the Agreement on International Humane Trapping Standards

To meet a requirement of EU Regulation 3254/91
To pursue an international standard that scientifically addresses animal welfare related to trapping furbearers. This reduces the ability to force legislation based on political lobbying efforts
To enlist signatories to address the issue of animal welfare related to trapping, regardless of the reason the animals are trapped. Whether it is for pest control, research, disease control, wildlife management or the commercial fur trade, the AIHTS is designed to ensure that the same scientifically validated standards apply in all three jurisdictions.
To maintain access to the European wild fur market. As the world's fashion centre, the European Union remains an important market for North American wild fur

As the Agreement on International Humane Trapping Standards is a dynamic treaty, it provides opportunity for continuing the improvement of animal welfare related to trapping as new technology and scientific knowledge emerges

Species covered by the AIHTS

In EU Regulation 3254/91, 12 North America and one Russian furbearer species were listed.
Under the AIHTS, six additional European species were added.
The Standards apply to the following 19 species:

Species List
Original 13	Badger Badger Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the weasel family, Mustelidae. There are nine species of badger, in three subfamilies : Melinae , Mellivorinae , and Taxideinae...	Badger
Beaver Beaver The beaver is a primarily nocturnal, large, semi-aquatic rodent. Castor includes two extant species, North American Beaver and Eurasian Beaver . Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges . They are the second-largest rodent in the world...	Beaver
Bobcat Bobcat The bobcat is a North American mammal of the cat family Felidae, appearing during the Irvingtonian stage of around 1.8 million years ago . With twelve recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to northern Mexico, including most of the continental United States...	Lynx Lynx A lynx is any of the four Lynx genus species of medium-sized wildcats. The name "lynx" originated in Middle English via Latin from Greek word "λύγξ", derived from the Indo-European root "*leuk-", meaning "light, brightness", in reference to the luminescence of its reflective eyes...
Coyote Coyote The coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...	Pine Marten Pine Marten The European Pine Marten , known most commonly as the pine marten in Anglophone Europe, and less commonly also known as Pineten, baum marten, or sweet marten, is an animal native to Northern Europe belonging to the mustelid family, which also includes mink, otter, badger, wolverine and weasel. It...
Ermine Ermine Ermine has several uses:* A common name for the stoat * The white fur and black tail end of this animal, which is historically worn by and associated with royalty and high officials...	Raccoon Dog Raccoon Dog The raccoon dog , also known as the magnut or tanuki, is a canid indigenous to east Asia. It is the only extant species in the genus Nyctereutes...
Marten Marten The martens constitute the genus Martes within the subfamily Mustelinae, in family Mustelidae.-Description:Martens are slender, agile animals, adapted to living in taigas, and are found in coniferous and northern deciduous forests across the northern hemisphere. They have bushy tails, and large...
Muskrat Muskrat The muskrat , the only species in genus Ondatra, is a medium-sized semi-aquatic rodent native to North America, and introduced in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands and is a very successful animal over a wide range of climates and habitats...
Otter Otter The Otters are twelve species of semi-aquatic mammals which feed on fish and shellfish, and also other invertebrates, amphibians, birds and small mammals....
Raccoon Raccoon Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most familiar species, the common raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...
Wolf
Sable Sable The sable is a species of marten which inhabits forest environments, primarily in Russia from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, in northern Mongolia and China and on Hokkaidō in Japan. Its range in the wild originally extended through European Russia to Poland and Scandinavia... (Russian)

Additional species, regardless of the reason for trapping them, may be included in the future as appropriate. All signatory parties must agree to any changes made to the species list.

Traps covered by the AIHTS

AIHTS requirements for certification in accordance with the Standards do not apply to traps individually constructed by trappers.

Killing Traps

Definition: Traps designed and set with the intention of killing a trapped animal of the target species. May include restraining traps set as killing traps when used in water.

Restraining Traps

Definition: Traps designed and set to restrain a target animal's movements. For use on land only. This includes all traps such as the foot snare, the padded foothold trap and any other limb restraining traps that are not "conventional steel-jawed leghold restraining traps". It also applies to manufactured live capture cages and boxes.

Implementation requirements and progress

Since autumn 2007, only certified traps are legally permitted for trapping the species listed in the Agreement on International Humane Trapping Standards. Local or regional jurisdictions may have additional regulatory requirements exceeding the AIHTS.
Restraining Traps - The use, on land, of conventional steel-jaw leghold restraining traps for the following species is now prohibited:

Badger	Lynx
Beaver	Marten
Bobcat	Muskrat
Coyote	Otter
Ermine	Raccoon
Fisher	Wolf

Other restraining traps, such as laminated, padded, offset, foot snares and cage

Cage (enclosure)

A cage is an enclosure made of mesh, bars or wires, used to confine, contain or protect something or someone. A cage can serve many purposes, including keeping an animal in captivity, capturing, and being used for display of an animal at a zoo.-History:...

traps must meet the requirements of the AIHTS and be certified initially by 2007. If research has not identified certifiable traps for use on a particular species by 2007, the AIHTS has a provision for continued use of current traps while research continues. Research is ongoing among all four countries.
Trap Certification – The certification process for both restraining and killing traps began in 2002. Criteria for certification are:

performance under AIHTS requirements
safety and efficiency (as required by a competent authority)
manufacturer must put certification mark on traps and provide instructions for use

As required under the Agreement, six provisional Joint Management Committee meetings have been held to date, in Edmonton, Alberta (2000), Brussels, Belgium (2002), St. Petersburg, Russia (2003), New York City, USA (2004), Quebec City, Canada (2005) and Brussels, Belgium(2008).

External links

Fur Institute of Canada- The FIC manages Canada’s humane trap research and testing program in accordance with The Agreement on International Humane Trapping Standards (AIHTS)