International trade in the yellow-crested cockatoo and the lilac-crowned Amazon parrot was banned at the 13th Conference of the Parties of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, held Oct. 2-14 in Bangkok, Thailand.

By placing the tightest possible controls on the harvesting of these birds, the CITES agreement ensures that these birds may be traded only if they have been bred in captivity. Their export and import will still require permits.

Delegates at the two-week meeting, attended by 1,200 officials from 154 governments and numerous observer organizations, also removed trade restrictions on the peach-faced lovebird, commonly captive-bred for the international pet trade.

The meeting is held every two to three years to update international trade rules governing the conservation and sustainable use of wildlife. Species are added, removed or transferred from Appendices that determine the level of protection afforded. Wild-caught animals listed on Appendix I are excluded from commercial international trade, while those on Appendix II are regulated through permits.

In other key actions taken on 50-some proposals to amend the appendices, delegates:

• Added a rare freshwater turtle found only on the Indonesian island of Roti to Appendix II. The Roti snake-necked turtle is believed to be critically endangered as a result of intensive collection for the global pet trade during the 1990s.
• Transferred the Malagasy spider tortoise, found in dry to arid coastal areas of southwest Madagascar, from Appendix II to Appendix I. In addition, the CITES Animals and Plants Committees are monitoring an action plan implemented in 2002 to strengthen enforcement of CITES provisions.
• Added the southeast Asian softshell turtle to Appendix II. The most heavily traded wild-harvested Asian turtle, it occasionally is found in the pet trade, but is primarily found in Asian food markets.
• Listed all 11 species of the leaf-tailed gecko, a lizard found only on Madagascar, on Appendix II.

The international trade in wildlife is estimated to be worth billions of dollars annually and to involve more than 350 million plant and animal specimens.

The next meeting of the conference of the parties to CITES will be held in 2007 in The Netherlands. [December 2004 PET AGE]