Earlier this month, the new Law Regulating Wildlife Trade was promulgated by His Majesty. This is a brand new law that complements other laws for protecting wildlife, such as the Nature Reserves and Wildlife Conservation Law of 2003 and the Nature Reserves and Wildlife Conservation Law of 2003.
The new Wildlife Trade Law operates within the framework of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and requires any person wishing to trade, import, export, re-export, introduce from the sea, propagate, or breed any specimen of wildlife to obtain a licence from the Environment Authority. The law also imposes additional requirements for the import of invasive alien species, such as obtaining the approval of a newly established scientific committee.
The law does not apply to specific categories of wildlife covered by CITES and permits their import without the need to obtain any licence, such as non-commercial loans of specimens undertaken by scientific institutions in Oman.
The law imposes stringent punishments on those who violate the law, including imprisonment of up to 7 years for smuggling endangered wildlife.
The Law Regulating Wildlife Trade has already entered into force. You can read it in full in English on the link below: