Abstract
CITES is the acronym for the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. It is a
complex treaty between 95 sovereign countries and it relates to
international trade in animals and plants. It has no jurisdiction
in the internal affairs of the parties to the treaty. In our case,
once a shipment and its papers are approved for entry into the
United States, our own U.S. laws take effect. Let me state that
there has been no proposal to move all Appendix IT psittacines
to Appendix I. That may be proposed for the next meeting of
the parties to the treaty but at this time no such proposal has
been made.
International trade was recognized years ago as a major threat
to the survival of many wildlife species. In 1963 the
International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural
Resources (the IUCN) made a formal call for an international
treaty regulating trade in wildlife species and, after a whole
decade of drafting, redrafting and consultations with governments,
government agencies and non-government agencies, the
draft of the CITES treaty was concluded at a conference
attended by representatives of 80 countries in Washington, D.C.
in March of 1973. The treaty was entered into effect on July 1,
1975 upon ratification by ten of its original signatories.
Currently 95 countries are party to the treaty.
Meetings of the parties to the treaty are held every two years
and the next meeting, originally scheduled for Jakarta, Indonesia,
and now planned for Lausanne, Switzerland, is set for
October 9 to 20, 1989.
CITES functions on the basis of its Appendices. It establishes
different requirements for trade in species listed on the three
species' appendices.