16 U.S.C. § 4906 — Qualifying facilities

(a) Determination. After any person^* submits a petition under section 4909, the Secretary^* must decide whether an exotic-bird breeding facility is a qualifying facility^*. The decision lasts for the period the Secretary specifies, but no longer than three years. From time to time, the Secretary must publish a list of qualifying facilities in the Federal Register.

(b) Criteria. The Secretary must decide that a facility qualifies for a species^* of exotic birds only if all of these conditions are met:

(1) The facility has shown that it can produce captive-bred birds of that species in the numbers to be imported into the United States^* from the facility.

(2) The facility is operated in a way that does not harm the species’ survival in the wild.

(3) The facility is operated humanely.

(4) The proper government authority in the country where the facility is located has certified in writing that the facility can breed the species in captivity, and the Secretary is satisfied of that capability.

(5) The country where the facility is located is a Party to the Convention^*. This section does not define “Convention” or “Party.”

(6) Every bird exported from the facility was bred there.