On 24 – 28 April 2023 the CITES Secretariat (The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) assembled a conference of the CITES Big Cats Task Force in Entebbe, Uganda, to reinforce actions to the international prohibited sell huge cats. Over 70 agents from 28 nations throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America and agents from the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC), other global inter-governmental, Regional Wildlife Enforcement Networks and non-governmental companies, participated in the Task Force conference.
The objective of the Task Force conference was to establish techniques to reinforce police actions to fight prohibited sell huge cats and their parts and derivatives, concentrating on huge cat types that are of greatest issue from a preservation and prohibited trade viewpoint: Cheetah, Mainland Clouded Leopard, Sunda Clouded Leopard, Lion, Jaguar, Leopard, Tiger and Snow Leopard.
Big cats are impacted by prohibited global trade and have actually been targeted over the last a number of years for their furs, teeth, bones and other body parts, along with for live animal trade. Data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) suggests that the international population of tigers in the wild is around 3,000 people with a comparable figure for snow leopards. The population of wild cheetahs is approximated at around 6,500. The population pattern for all huge cat types concentrated on at the Task Force conference is thought about to be reducing.
Effective execution and enforcement of the regulative structure developed by CITES, play a crucial function in avoiding and dealing with the prohibited wildlife trade. All huge cat types are secured under points out due to the truth that uncontrolled and prohibited trade presents major hazards to their survival. At the Task Force conference, there was a strong concentrate on enforcement and execution difficulties, info and intelligence sharing about the nature of the prohibited trade and associated prohibited trade paths, sharing understanding on forensics and other procedures in determining huge cat specimens in trade, conversations on the need for live huge cats and reinforcing frontline cooperation and coordination. Over the course of the five-day conference, individuals recognized finest practices and ingenious methods to resolve this prohibited trade and developed strong expert relationships with their police equivalents from other nations.
MENTIONS Secretary-General Ivonne Higuero said: “Over the past century we have been losing big cats, one of the planet’s most majestic predators, at an alarming rate. Today, big cat populations are continuing to diminish, due to habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict, wildlife crime and the illegal trade. In recent years, there has been progress in conservation efforts, coexistence strategies, and enforcement measures to tackle illegal trade in big cats, but more needs to be done. The CITES Big Cats Task Force meeting has provided an opportunity for Parties, IGOs, NGOs and experts to come together to share knowledge and expertise on big cats. The outcomes of this meeting provide inputs to Parties to strengthen responses to illegal trade in big cats.”
The results from the conference of the CITES Big Cats Task Force will exist to the 77th conference of the CITES Standing Committee in Geneva Switzerland in November 2023.
These consist of procedures and activities to:
- Strengthen efficient execution and enforcement of the Convention with concerns to prohibited sell huge cat specimens.
- Strengthen guideline of centers breeding huge cats in captivity to avoid and discover any prohibited trade from such centers and release strengthened enforcement procedures.
- Reduce need to fight prohibited sell huge cats
- Identification of huge cat specimens in trade.
- Strengthen local and global cooperation to resolve prohibited sell specimens of huge cats.
The MENTIONS Big Cats Task Force conference was assembled by the CITES Secretariat together with its partners in the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC). It was hosted by the Republic of Uganda and arranged thanks to support supplied by the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
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More info on the CITES Big Cats Task Force Meeting result file can be discovered here.
About MENTIONS:
MENTIONS – the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
points out is a lawfully binding multilateral arrangement of 184 Parties, that controls global sell more than 40,000 types of wild plants and animals, including their parts and derivatives. Its function is to guarantee that this trade is legal, sustainable, and traceable.
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About ICCWC:
ICCWC – The International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime.
ICCWC is a unique collaboration of 5 intergovernmental companies – The Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (MENTIONS), the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the World Bank Group (WBG) and the World Customs Organization (WCO).
Through technical support, tools, training, and functional assistance, ICCWC works along the whole criminal justice chain, building the capability of frontline police in nations and areas around the globe impacted by wildlife criminal activity.
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