Overview
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the Engangered Species Act (ESA) are the primary international and US policies, respectively, in place to protect endangered and threatened species.
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
CITES is a United Nations Convention that regulates the global trade in vulnerable wildlife. CITES is the only international treaty specifically designed to address the direct exploitation of species involved in international trade. Countries join CITES voluntarily, but they must agree to be bound by the convention and adopt domestic legislation intended to ensure CITES is implemented at the national level.
More than 30,000 species of animals and plants are currently protected by CITES, and these protections have aided in preventing the extinction of the most imperiled. Yet the vast majority of wildlife species traded around the world are not covered by the treaty, and international trade in live animals and animal parts and products has increased significantly since 1973, when CITES was signed.
Endangered Species Act
In the US, threatened and endangered species are protected under the ESA, a law enacted in 1973.
“Threatened” species, under the ESA, are species that are likely to become endangered, and “endangered” species are those that are “in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of” their range. It is illegal to “harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect” a species listed under the Act.
Over 1,700 threatened and endangered animals and plants in the US and other countries of the world receive the ESA’s protection.
Take Action for Endangered Species
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Other Actions in Endangered Species
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