Species protection agreement: Germany under observation
Published: Tuesday, Nov 7th 2023, 19:02
Updated At: Wednesday, Nov 8th 2023, 00:54
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Germany is under scrutiny for possible violations of the Washington Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites). Representatives of the signatory states decided on Tuesday in Geneva that the Cites Secretariat should hold talks with Germany on the controversial import and export of rare bird species. In addition, the Committee of the Parties noted for the first time that the European Union is not adequately implementing parts of the Convention.
In 2018, parrot species threatened with extinction were exported to Germany at the request of the Caribbean state of Dominica following a devastating hurricane. A breeding program was set up there to preserve the species. A representative of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation told the committee that Germany had decided to take this step in this emergency situation, even though trade in protected species from Dominica was not permitted at the time. He also admitted that Germany had failed to coordinate the export of Spix's Macaws for a breeding station in India with Brazil as planned. The bird species was once native to Brazil and is now extinct in the wild.
"We very much welcome the result," said Daniela Freyer from the Pro Wildlife organization in Munich after the Cites meeting. "The point is that Germany has to explain itself," she said.
In the opinion of the Cites Committee, breeding animals of endangered species are insufficiently documented in the EU. In addition, commercial breeding farms for exotic birds and reptiles have not yet been registered in the EU, the committee noted.
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