In early October 2016, the 17th Conference on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora in Johannesburg, South Africa decided to place a large number of woods under the comprehensive protection of Appendix II of the Washington Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). CITES is the abbreviation of “Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora”.
For bagpipes, it mainly concerns the ” grenadilla ” (English African Blackwood / dalbergia melanoxylon) often used in Scottish bagpipes.
This species has been classified in the so-called CITES-II Appendix. Possession and use is not thereby “forbidden” or “illegal”, but only an increased level of protection is assigned to make the extraction, trade and worldwide consumption of these valuable woods as a whole visible and comprehensible.
For you as a customer, almost nothing changes: you own and play your musical instruments, travel with them and use them as usual at performances.
However, some things change in private and commercial buying and selling.
| 1. possession of an instrument from Blackwood | There are no restrictions on just owning your Bagpipe from Blackwood. However, note item 7 in this table in case you want to sell your instrument at some point. |
| 2. purchase of an instrument made of blackwood from a specialized dealer. | As of 02.01.2017, when purchasing a musical instrument, the information on Cites-II woods used must be indicated on the invoice or an accompanying document. |
| 3. private sale of an instrument from Blackwood | As of 02.01.2017, when purchasing a musical instrument, the information on Cites-II woods used must be indicated on the invoice or an accompanying document. |
| 4. private sale of an instrument from Blackwood | If you want to sell a bagpipe with African Blackwood components, you must prove that you purchased the instrument before 02/01/2017. If you no longer have the original invoice, you can request a certificate from the seller or the manufacturer, which certifies that the instrument was built before the new regulation came into force. If the instrument was purchased after 02.01.2017, then hand over to the buyer the original invoice and the accompanying document, in which the information about the Cites-2 woods used is given. |
| 5. buying an instrument from Blackwood from private | The seller should give you the original invoice, because it proves that the bagpipe was purchased before the new regulations came into effect on 02.01.2017. |
| 6. travel advice | You may carry a musical instrument that contains Cites-II relevant components anywhere in the world without proof of documentation if the instrument is in your personal luggage. This also applies to musicians on concert tours. |
| 7. registration of older, already existing instruments | If you have other instruments with components from Cites-II relevant woods, whose invoices you no longer have at hand, you should report them to your competent authority before 02.01.2017. This is the only way to ensure that the ownership of the instruments is registered by the authorities if you wish to sell them in the future.Important note: It is only a matter of registering instruments that have components of the woods concerned. Do not declare instruments where you are sure that no Cites-II relevant woods are included. If you have any doubts, please contact the manufacturer or research on the Internet.Please contact the competent authority directly. As a rule, this is the upper nature conservation authority at your responsible regional council.Send your notification in written form and use, for example, the following text:Dear Sir or Madam,I hereby register the following instrument(s) from my private possession with components made of Cites-II protected woods according to EC Regulation 338/97 as pre-acquisition goods: – Quantity – Designation– Serial number or, if not available, photo Please send me an acknowledgement of receipt of my notification.Yours sincerely / Signature |
