> Wildlife permits > Permit types > Keep, sell or display native animals (including eggs)

Trade native animals as a business (fauna dealer)

Allow eight weeks for your permit application to be processed.

Fauna dealers buy and sell native animals as a commercial enterprise. The species you trade determines what type of permit you need. The term 'sell' includes swap or give away.

Fauna dealer permit holders must keep each animal for a minimum of seven days before selling it, unless:

you bred the animal
you get permission from the Fauna Permit Unit to sell it sooner.

The permits below are for animals that are bred in captivity. You need a separate permit if you want to take a native animal from the wild, and you may only take from the wild if animals are not already available in the trade.

What species of animals can I trade?

You can commercially trade most species of native animals. Before you choose a permit type, find out if the animal you want to trade is Unprotected, Exempt or Basic. Or, if a species doesn’t appear on any of these lists, it is a Specialist animal.

Find out how we categorise native animals in South Australia.

Dingoes may not be kept south of the dog fence. See the Biosecurity SA website for information about dingoes and the dog fence.

Unprotected or Exempt animals

You do not need a permit to keep and/or sell Unprotected or Exempt animals. However, Exempt animals are protected in the wild and must have been bred in captivity. Keep your receipt as proof of purchase.
You need a permit to import or export Exempt animals into or from South Australia.

Basic animals

You need a permit to commercially trade Basic animals. To apply for this permit, complete the online form. Permit holders must comply with the conditions of the Class 2B permit, and certain requirements of the regulations. Once we process your application, a Fauna Permits officer will visit your premises to check that you have the facilities, knowledge and experience to safely and properly care for these animals.
Do you want to commercially sell protected animals from a new or alternative location to the premises for which you already hold a permit? To get approval for this apply to add additional premises to your permit.
You need a separate permit to import or export protected native animals into or from South Australia.

Specialist animals

You need a permit to commercially trade Specialist animals (that is, any native animals that are not Unprotected, Exempt or Basic). To apply for this permit, do complete the online form. Permit holders must comply with the conditions of the Class 2S permit, and certain requirements of the regulations. Once we process your application, a Fauna Permits officer will visit your premises to check you have the facilities, knowledge and experience to safely and properly care for these animals. The permit will list Specialist species from your application that you approval to trade. You may also keep or sell Basic animals under this permit.
Do you want to commercially sell protected animals from a new or alternative location to the premises for which you already hold a permit? To get approval for this apply to add additional premises to your permit.
You need a separate permit to import or export protected native animals from or into South Australia.

Record keeping and reporting

Class 2B and 2S permit holders must keep certain information in your Protected Animals Record Book (which we will supply to you or which you can complete online via your mySAGOV account) and provide a copy of your record book transactions to the Fauna Permits Unit on a quarterly basis:

Record the details of the people you sell an animal to (name, address, telephone number and permit number, if applicable).
If you sell one Basic animal to a person who does not have a permit and who does not have any other animals that need a permit, you must record the person’s details (name, address and phone number). It is also a good idea to record a driver’s licence number or a vehicle registration number.
Record the details of the people you purchase animals from (name, address, telephone number and their permit number if they are required to have one).
If you hold a Specialist (Class 2S) permit, you can sell Specialist animals only to people with a Specialist permit endorsed for the species being sold.