Austria warns of new international travel restrictions for musical instruments
mainThe Austrian Ministry for Enviroment and Agriculture has drawn public attention to a resolution by CITES, the conference on endangered species, which bans the import or export of products made of black woods (grenadille, palisander and others) from January 1, 2017.
The is would affect oboes, clarinets, guitar and the fingerboards of some violins.
You may be asked to show proof that you owned the instrument before January 1, 2017.
Here’s the resolution. Be prepared.
As I read them, the new CITES rules do not apply to instruments carried for personal use while traveling internationally unless the instruments contain more than 10 kilos of protected wood.
The rules now cover all rosewoods (it used to be only Brazilian rosewood), some bubingas, and African blackwood.
This affects raw lumber and manufactured items being shipped across borders, but currently should not affect travelling musicians.
Forgot to mention, this applies to all CITES signatories, not only Austria.
I’d be very, very careful about that. You will have read about the vagaries of airline personnel despite company rules and other regulations. These people confiscate first, check later.
Airline personnel don’t have a role in this matter. It’s a customs issue, whether by land, sea, or air.
Another breed that sticks to the rules.