{"id":72051,"date":"2025-11-05T11:30:45","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T06:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=72051"},"modified":"2025-11-06T11:51:38","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T06:21:38","slug":"cites-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/cites-report\/","title":{"rendered":"CITES Report Urges India to Halt Wildlife Imports Pending Stronger Checks"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>CITES Report Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A CITES verification mission has advised India to halt <\/span><b>imports of critically endangered species \u2014 including<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees, and snow leopards \u2014 until stronger checks and due diligence measures are implemented.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The report warned of illegal harvesting of wild animals falsely declared as captive-bred and asked India to provide credible evidence to the CITES Secretariat in Geneva proving its compliance with global wildlife trade safeguards.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>About CITES<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/cites\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)<\/strong><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a global treaty with 185 members, regulates international trade in protected species.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Structure and Mechanism<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Species protected under CITES are classified into three Appendices:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Appendix I:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Species threatened with extinction; trade permitted only in exceptional circumstances.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Appendix II:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Species not necessarily threatened but whose trade must be controlled to avoid overexploitation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Appendix III:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Species protected in at least one country that has asked other Parties for assistance in controlling trade.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Trade in CITES-listed species requires export and import permits issued by designated national CITES authorities in each member country.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>India and CITES<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India joined CITES in 1976, and no international wildlife trade is permitted without export and import permits issued by designated CITES authorities.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Directorate of Wildlife Preservation under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) serves as India\u2019s CITES Management Authority.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CITES implementation in India aligns with the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, which governs the trade, acquisition, and possession of wildlife species and derivatives.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>CITES Mission Flags Gaps in India\u2019s Wildlife Import Procedures<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A CITES verification mission has urged India to suspend imports of critically endangered species \u2014 such as gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees, and snow leopards \u2014 until it strengthens due diligence and verification systems to prevent illegal wildlife trade.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The mission warned against the illegal capture of wild animals falsely declared as captive-bred and asked India to provide evidence of compliance to the CITES Secretariat in Geneva.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Background: Inspection Triggered by Gujarat Zoo Imports<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At a CITES Standing Committee meeting in Geneva (February 2025), member countries raised concerns about wildlife imports to the Greens Zoological Rescue &amp; Rehabilitation Center (GZRRC) in Jamnagar, Gujarat, operated by Vantara.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This led to a CITES inspection mission, which also visited the Radha Krishna Temple Elephant Welfare Trust (RKTEWT).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Key Findings of the Report<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The mission found that while all imports had valid CITES permits, questions remained about:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The true origin of animals,<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The accuracy of source (captive-bred) and purpose (zoo) codes, and<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The extent of India\u2019s due diligence in verifying imports.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Under India\u2019s <\/span><b>Wildlife Protection Act<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, zoos can only acquire or transfer animals from other recognised zoos.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, many imports came from commercial breeding facilities, not zoos \u2014 raising concerns about wild-caught animals being mislabelled as captive-bred.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Animal Holdings and Facility Standards<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The CITES Secretariat noted that both facilities &#8211; GZRRC and RKTEWT &#8211; maintain exceptionally high welfare standards and that their representatives denied buying any animals.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Contradictory Records on Czech Republic Imports<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Czech CITES authority told the Secretariat that animals sent to GZRRC were sold, not rescued, contradicting India\u2019s claim.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Questionable Origins of Animals from Africa and South America<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Three African elephants imported from Tunisia were found to be wild-caught from Burkina Faso.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">363 animals, including primates, crocodilians, and anteaters, exported from Guyana, were marked as wild (source code W) and for zoos (purpose code Z) \u2014 <\/span><b>raising concerns of misclassification<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Imports from Unlikely or Unverified Sources<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The report listed multiple imports via the UAE claiming \u201ccaptive-bred\u201d origins from countries with no breeding programs \u2014 such as:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chimpanzees from Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bonobo from Iraq<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gorilla from Haiti<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cheetahs from Syria<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It also noted imports of Appendix-I species under \u201cconfiscation\u201d (code I) \u2014 including jaguars, ocelots, margays, jaguarundis, chimpanzees, orangutans, and cheetahs \u2014 with unknown origins from Mexico and the UAE.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>CITES Recommendations for India<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>CITES Secretariat<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> recommended that India:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Review and strengthen its import procedures<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> urgently to ensure authenticity of captive-bred claims.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Verify all flagged imports<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with <\/span><b>source or transit countries<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 including <\/span><b>Congo, Germany, Guyana, Iraq, Mexico, Syria, and the UAE<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 to confirm origins.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Take corrective action<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> if animals were found to be <\/span><b>sourced from the wild<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> under false captive-bred claims.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Next Steps and Reporting Deadline<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The CITES Standing Committee, meeting in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on November 23, will review India\u2019s case.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Secretariat has asked India to take corrective measures and submit a detailed compliance report within 90 days.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/india\/stop-wildlife-imports-until-proper-checks-in-place-cites-to-india-10345834\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbctv18.com\/india\/cites-secretariat-notes-indias-strong-wildlife-framework-high-standards-at-vantara-ws-l-19738359.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CNBC<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/cites.org\/eng\/disc\/what.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CITES<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CITES urges India to suspend wildlife imports of endangered species like gorillas and chimpanzees until stronger verification systems prevent illegal trade and ensure compliance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":72069,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[3554,60,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-72051","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-cites-report","9":"tag-mains-articles","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72051"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72051\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}