Key Issues for 2010
Born Free USA was focused on a number of important issues at the 2010 CITES meeting. Among them:
ELEPHANTS. Tanzania and Zambia want to sell hundreds of thousands of pounds of stockpiled ivory, potentially leading to increased elephant poaching and laundering of illegally acquired ivory. Born Free USA will fight to save elephants from the bloody ivory trade.
POLAR BEARS. The United States is pushing to increase the levels of protection for polar bears, shutting down commercial trade in polar bears. While the biggest threat to polar bears is the destruction of their habitat due to climate change, reduction in commercial trade in the species will help protect the population from an even more precipitous decline. Born Free USA will fight to protect polar bears before it's too late.
BOBCATS. The United States is trying to remove the bobcat from the CITES appendices altogether. It has tried and failed many times. While the population of bobcats in America is not imperiled, global fur trade in bobcats could provide cover for laundering of the Iberian lynx, the most endangered canid species on earth and one that looks similar to the American bobcat. As a result, bobcats should remain listed under the Convention. Born Free USA will fight to protect bobcats and related species.
SHARKS. CITES Parties have an opportunity to protect a number of shark species in 2010: hammerhead sharks, dusky sharks, and ocean whitetip sharks. They are at particular risk from the brutal trade in shark fins. Born Free USA will fight for sharks and an end to the destructive trade in shark fins.
BLUEFIN TUNA. Overexploitation of northern bluefin tuna is putting the species at serious risk throughout its range in the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. With low reproductive rates, the species can no longer withstand massive exploitation by the fisheries industry. Born Free USA will fight for tuna and other ocean species in need.
OTHER SPECIES. The CITES meeting will consider protection for a number of other species in need: reptiles, amphibians, coral, and flora. Born Free USA will fight for them all.
