# What Is CITES? The Treaty That Controls the Global Wildlife Trade

*GLOBAL · MAY 21 2026*

> CITES — the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora — is an international treaty in force since 1975 that regulates the cross-border trade of more than 38,000 plant and animal species through three Appendices of increasing restrictiveness; almost every country in the world is a party.

CITES — the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species — controls the international trade of more than 38,000 species. Here is the plain-English explainer.

## What are the key takeaways from this briefing?
- International treaty in force since 1975.
- More than 38,000 species listed across three Appendices.
- Appendix I: no commercial international trade — the most endangered species.
- Appendix II: trade permitted with export permits — controlled but not banned.
- Appendix III: trade controls requested by individual range states.

**CITES** — the **Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora** — is the international treaty that controls the cross-border movement of wild animals and plants. It has been in force since 1975, has been signed by more than 180 countries, and currently regulates the trade of more than 38,000 species.

## The three Appendices

- **Appendix I.** Species threatened with extinction. No commercial international trade. Includes tigers, all great apes, pangolins, all rhinos, sea turtles, many parrots and many cetaceans. Examples: Pongo pygmaeus (Bornean orangutan), Manis javanica (Sunda pangolin), Panthera tigris (tiger).

- **Appendix II.** Species not currently threatened with extinction but at risk if trade is uncontrolled. Trade permitted with export permits. Includes hippos, many crocodile species, many corals, many timber species, many parrots and cacti.

- **Appendix III.** Species protected at the request of a specific range state. Trade controls limited to specified countries.

## How CITES actually works

CITES is enforced at national borders. Each party country designates a Management Authority (which issues permits) and a Scientific Authority (which assesses sustainability). Importers and exporters must obtain CITES permits before moving listed species across borders, including dead specimens, parts and derivatives. A pangolin scale is as regulated as a live pangolin.

## What CITES does not do

- **It does not control domestic trade.** Each country sets its own internal rules. Some countries ban domestic ivory sales entirely (including the UK); others permit them.

- **It does not address welfare.** CITES is a trade-control treaty. Welfare standards for transported animals fall under separate frameworks (notably IATA Live Animals Regulations and WOAH).

- **It does not list every endangered species.** A species can be Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List without being on a CITES Appendix, and vice versa.

## Why this matters for WARN supporters

Every animal WARN's partner rescues handles is implicitly a CITES question. Confiscated pangolins, parrots, slow lorises and primate species are CITES Appendix I or II. International transfer between sanctuaries requires CITES permits. Returning rescued wildlife to range countries requires CITES permits. The treaty is the operating system of international wildlife rescue.

Sources: CITES Secretariat, UNEP-WCMC, UNODC World Wildlife Crime Report.

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Human-readable page: https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/newsroom/what-is-cites/