CBSA reminds importers that bat specimens require a CFIA import permit

CBSA states in Customs Notice 26-08 that imports of bat specimens in any form must be declared on the commercial invoice and import declarations and require a Permit to import Animal Products and By-Products issued by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency through MyCFIA before the shipment reaches Canada. The requirement covers fruit and insectivorous bats in the Order Chiroptera, whether whole, skeletal, body parts, tissue, cell lines or DNA, and whether or not encased in resin, plastic or a picture frame or preserved in formaldehyde, under the Health of Animals Regulations.