Wildlife Trade and CITES in the European Union
 
The decline and extinction of species is a natural process in the evolution of life on earth, and there have been several periods of mass extinctions in the prehistoric past. However, while these have been largely due to natural catastrophes (e.g. climate change, impact of meteorites), current mass extinctions around the globe are man-made. While habitat loss and habitat fragmentation are in most cases the primary causes of such extinctions, international trade in endangered species is for many species a driving force in their decline and extinction. Every year, live specimens or worked derivatives of them (e.g. carvings, products used in traditional medicine, etc.) are traded in huge amounts to satisfy consumer demand, and many cat species (e.g. tiger), most rhinoceroces, many large snakes, some orchids and cacti have been pushed to the edge of extinction. The principal export regions are South and Central America, Africa and Asia, while the most important consumers are North America, Europe, the Middle East and East Asia (e.g. Japan). Singapore, Hongkong, South Africa or the eastern-most parts of Europe act largely as transit regions where imported raw materials, like ivory, are crafted into worked specimens and re-exported.

International cooperation is vital if such trade in endangered species or their derivatives is to be effectively controlled, and both producer and consumer countries have their share in the responsibility for trade control. CITES (Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna) was drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of IUCN (The World Conservation Union). The text of the convention was finally agreed at a meeting of representatives of 80 countries in Washington DC., United States of America, on 3 March 1973, and on 1 July 1975 CITES entered in force. Today, CITES boasts 166 member states.

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 make sure that CITES is implemented at the national level. National legislation must be supplemented with national laws, particularly with regard to matters that remain under the sovereignty of each Member State such as penal laws that should ensure that infractions are punished in an appropriate manner.
 
Due to the European single market, and the absence of systematic internal border controls within the European Union (now 25 member countries), CITES provisions are applied uniformly in the European Community through adoption of EU Wildlife Trade Regulations, principally Council Regulations 338/97 and Commission Regulation 1808/2001.  In some respects, these Regulations are stricter than CITES itself; for instance they include certain non-CITES species and have stricter welfare requirements for live animals.
 
Austria has ratified the CITES Convention in 1981 which has entered into force in 1982 through the provision of national legislation. 
                                                                                                                                         
                               
Important EU Regulations to trade in CITES listed species
 
EC Reg. 338/97
Council Regulation 338/97 provides the legal framework. The provisions of this regulation control trade within the European Community as well as import, export and re-export of species listed in the Appendices. This includes information as to the various documents required for trade and regulations regarding trade in live specimens of plants and animals. PDF Dokument
 
EC Reg. 865/2006
This regulation details all the practical aspects of trade regulation of wild plants and animals and is subject to changes agreed to at biannual Conferences of the Parties. PDF Dokument  
 
EC Reg. 605/2006
This regulation provides a list of species for which a trade prohibition has entered into force and which is updated quarterly. PDF Dokument
 
EC Reg. 1332/2005
This regulation provides the complete list of species listed on CITES Appendices and is subject to changes agreed to at biannual Conferences of the Parties. PDF Dokument
 
For further information on CITES matters, please visit the Austrian CITES homepage on www.cites.at or the international CITES homepage on www.cites.org. 
  
                                      
Austrian national CITES legislation
 
Species Trade Act
Amendment to the Species Trade Act
Species Marking Ordinance
Species Marking Ordinance - Annex I
Species Marking Ordinance - Annex II