Tweets,

While both Am. Kestrels and N. Pygmy-Owls are specifically protected
by US law, it's more than possible that both species were exported to
South Africa from Latin America, since our laws generally do not extend
beyond our borders. The USA and Canada do honor each others' bird
protection laws under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), but most
other countries do not. It's also conceivable that both species were
raised aviculturally, say, in Europe, and exported to South Africa.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)
does protect (at least in theory) most species specifically listed
therein from (legal) worldwide trade, but neither of those species is
listed by CITES.

Most birders are very unaware of the extent to which birds are
traded in international commerce. If I'm not mistaken, the USA has now
banned importation of all wild-caught birds except for certain
exceptional purposes, but such laws are a rarity on the world scene, and
easily broken anyway.
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P W (Bill) Smith
Grays Harbor, Washington USA
pwsmith at techline.com