PANAMA CITY, Panama (November 13, 2022) – The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), IFAW, Blue Resources Trust and Humane Society International (HSI) applaud the Government of Panama for its leadership in proposing major new protections for sharks at the upcoming 19th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES CoP19), which runs from November 14-25th in Panama City. Panama is leading an effor...

In response to the alarming decline of global shark populations, a group of countries from around the world have today announced a groundbreaking effort to control the unsustainable global trade in shark fins, which threatens to push these ecologically important predators to extinction.

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) launched a new, visual identification tool to enable trade inspectors and customs officials to quickly identify and seize illegally obtained or traded shark products.

A new framework has been developed to determine how best to manage trade in particular wildlife species under commercial pressure.

A recent note published in the journal Oryx – the International Journal of Conservation by the African Elephant Specialist Group (AfESG) of IUCN, officially recognizes two species of African elephant: the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana) and forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis).

The following statement was issued by the Wildlife Conservation Society at CITES CoP18. Susan Lieberman, vice president of international policy for the Wildlife Conservation Society, presented these remarks in full plenary as CITES CoP18 came to conclusion.

What happened with sharks, giraffe, saiga, rosewood, glass frogs, elephants and more? 

WCS welcomes Madagascar’s new commitment to halt the trafficking of rosewood species, as the country’s representatives announced at the CITES CoP18 this week.

Government delegates attending CITES CoP18 (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora 18th Conference of the Parties) approved greater trade protections for all nine subspecies of giraffes.

A statement was issued by the Wildlife Conservation Society concerning the critically endangered saiga antelope staying on Appendix II but now with a zero quota, helping to ensure that international commercial trade will not contribute to further declines of the species and will help range states and other parties combat illegal trade.