Trade in endangered species

Eric Stepp points out an article in The Guardian from last May: ‘Noah's ark’ of 5,000 rare animals found floating off the coast of China.

Endangered, hunted, smuggled and now abandoned, 5,000 of the world's rarest animals have been found drifting in a deserted boat near the coast of China.

The pangolins, Asian giant turtles and lizards were crushed inside crates on a rickety wooden vessel that had lost engine power off Qingzhou island in the southern province of Guangdong. Most were alive, though the cargo also contained 21 bear paws wrapped in newspaper.

According to wildlife groups, China is the main market for illegally traded exotic species, which are eaten or used in traditional medicine. Pangolins are in great demand because their meat is consider a delicacy and their scales are thought to help mothers breastfeed their babies.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) was adopted in 1973 “to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.” Unfortunately, illegal trade in endangered species threatens many of them, and enforcement in some countries is notoriously lax.

CITES is an international agreement to which States (countries) adhere voluntarily. States that have agreed to be bound by the Convention ('joined' CITES) are known as Parties. Although CITES is legally binding on the Parties - in other words they have to implement the Convention - it does not take the place of national laws. Rather it provides a framework to be respected by each Party, which has to adopt its own domestic legislation to ensure that CITES is implemented at the national level. (source)

CITES is only as strong as the national laws and national enforcement that supports it. Episodes like the one reported in The Guardian make it tragically clear that enforcement in some countries is lacking.