CITES CoP18 | Born Free USA

Born Free USA at CITES CoP18

Are you part of the trade in wildlife? No? Think again.

Like it or not, we have all played a role in wildlife trade. From the wood our furniture is made from, to the orchids on our windowsill, the pieces of coral on our mantelpiece, or even the live fish in our aquaria, wildlife trade is all around us.

We don’t want wildlife to be traded in any shape or form, but if there is going to be trade, we want to make sure it is done right. We want the most threatened species in the world to be fully protected against it. And, we want to ensure that no animals suffer as a result.

In August 2019, delegates from all over the world will be attending a big meeting in Geneva to make decisions about wildlife trade. Born Free will be there, too. Decisions will be made on whether many species of wild animals and plants should be protected; whether current rules for elephants, rhinos, lions and great apes should be tightened or relaxed; and how international rules on wildlife trade should work – even the trade in woolly mammoth ivory is up for discussion!

Keep an eye on our social media feeds for updates about this important conference to help keep wildlife in the wild: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. To receive CITES updates directly to your inbox, join our email list.

Collage of wildlife that Born Free USA will advocate for at CITES CoP18

What is CITES?

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is an international agreement between governments that aims to ensure that international trade in wild animals and plants does not threaten species’ survival. As of 2018, around 5,800 species of animals and 30,000 species of plants are regulated by CITES and listed in CITES Appendices I, II, or III. CoPs (Conferences of Parties) happen every three years and provide an opportunity for member States and other stakeholders to review progress in species conservation in order to adopt or amend proposals related to species protection.

What will Born Free do at CITES CoP18?

CoPs offer advocate organizations like Born Free the chance to push for stronger protections for imperiled species. This year, at CoP18, Born Free USA will actively work to increase international protections for African wildlife threatened by unsustainable and illegal trade, including:

AFRICAN ELEPHANTS: All Elephants Need Protection No Matter Where They Live!

Countries make choices individually about how they protect the wildlife within their borders. As of right now, elephants are more protected in some countries and less protected in others. This current situation puts the species at ongoing risk, complicates enforcement, maintains market demand and commercial international trade, confuses consumers, and undermines the effectiveness of regulations for African elephants. We want to give all elephants the full protection that CITES can offer.

We oppose Proposals 10 & 11, which would enable commercial trade in various elephant products from Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, countries that have elephant populations of more than 250,000 between them – approximately 35-60% of the total African elephant population, depending on estimates. Resuming commercial trade would severely undermine both ivory demand reduction and compromise international enforcement efforts, which would both lead to an increase in poaching and a continuing downward spiral of the elephant population. We must move forward, not backward to help save elephants.,

WOOLLY MAMMOTHS: We Support Listing the Woolly Mammoth for Stronger Elephant Protection!

Believe it or not, even species that have been extinct for thousands of years can affect the wildlife trade. Since woolly mammoth ivory trade is almost totally unregulated and undocumented, and because woolly mammoth ivory is not easily distinguished from elephant ivory without expertise, there is risk of illegal international trade in elephant ivory being facilitated by deliberately mislabeling specimens as mammoth ivory in order to circumvent rules and restrictions. By offering woolly mammoth ivory protection under CITES, we can facilitate documentation in order to better understand its implications for living elephant populations.

AFRICAN LIONS: A Dedicated Resolution Is Needed!

Lions are in serious decline across much of Africa – the 2016 IUCN Red List assessment inferred a 43% decline over the previous 21 years (or three lion generations), and estimated that just 23,000-39,000 mature individuals remain across the continent, occupying as little as 8% of their historic range.

We are urging support for official documents being proposed that would undertake a study of lion population trends, convene a CITES Big Cats Task Force and encourage CITES nations to increase public awareness of the plight of lions and international trade in lion products.

GIRAFFES: They Need CITES Protection!

Giraffe populations have declined 36 – 40% over three generations (30 years, 1985-2015). The number of mature individuals in the wild is estimated at under 70,000. Legal and illegal giraffe hunting are one of the main causes with almost 40,000 giraffe parts imported into the U.S. between 2006-2015 – the equivalent of at least 3,750 individual giraffes. We need to bring this increasingly threatened species within the purview of CITES and monitor trade to ensure it does not contribute to further population declines.