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The European Union (EU) belongs to the global major importers of living reptiles, as well as their parts and products (such as leather). The Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) regulates the international trade in species listed in the Appendices of the convention.
Since several years, a shift of the international reptile trade from wild specimens towards specimens bred in captivity is recognized. About 83% of traded reptiles are claimed not to be of „wild“ source. However, these source codes are in some cases highly questionable. As such, the verification of the captive breeding of specimens poses an increasing challenge to national and international CITES authorities and became of increasing significance for the work of international bodies of the convention.
Comprehensive information on the reproduction and husbandry requirements of traded species are crucial for making plausibility findings of captive breeding data. However, especially for species that are rarely kept in captivity, newly described or poorly studied, the relevant data is lacking or not accessible.
As Germany further is a main transit country in the reptile trade within the EU, the country has a high responsibility for the conservation of traded species. Therefore, the present guidance for CITES authorities has been developed to improve the plausibility finding of the captive breeding of selected species.
There are several specialist keepers in Germany, who have great experience in keeping and breeding of rare reptile taxa, however in many cases these data remain unpublished.
The German Society of Herpetology and Herpetoculture (DGHT) has thus been commissioned to requested relevant reproduction data from private keepers and zoological institutions, to carry out a literature survey and together with their own expertise develop the current guidance. The selection of species for which these data were collected included those reptile taxa, which were included or uplisted in the CITES Appendices I and II at the previous CITES CoP17. This contribution should assist CITES authorities in making the plausibility finding for the captive breeding and should improve the implementation of the CITES convention.
For more details follow the link
Prof. Dr. Beate Jessel
President of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation
