Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Dec. 5, 2025 – As the 20th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES CoP20) concluded, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) welcomed a series of landmark decisions that will strengthen trade regulations for threatened species—including many heavily targeted by the global pet trade—while also warning that several decisions could jeopardize hard-won conserva...

SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan (December 3, 2025)—The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) today applauded the decision by Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to transfer both Galápagos marine and land iguanas from Appendix II to Appendix I—the highest level of protection under the treaty. The vote, taken during the 20th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP20) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, recognizes the mounting pressu...