Page 26 - May2011-Finall

Oklahoma Station Safari Trails – May 2011

and on 1 July 1975 CITES entered in force. The original of the Convention was deposited with the Depositary Government in the Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish languages, each version being equally authentic.

CITES is an international agreement to which States (countries) adhere voluntarily. States that have agreed to be bound by the Convention ('joined' CITES) are known as Parties. Although CITES is legally binding on the Parties – in other words they have to implement the Convention – it does not take the place of national laws. Rather it provides a framework to be respected by each Party, which has to adopt its own domestic legislation to ensure that CITES is implemented at the national level.

For many years CITES has been among the conservation agreements with the largest membership, with now 175 Parties.

…So, you may or may not have already known that much about CITES.

Did you know that, while the more charismatic creatures, such as bears and whales, may be the better known examples of CITES species, the most numerous groups include many less popularized plants and animals, such as aloes, corals, mussels and frogs?

Most of the time, our lives are conducted in accordance with regulations adopted to ensure implementation of CITES without us even being aware of the fact.

HOWEVER, for those of us who hunt…especially with regard to hunting outside of the US, CITES requirements have special significance…and we are each personally responsible for ensuring that our hunting-related activities are conducted accordingly.

We’ll go into more detail in the future, but if you have an immediate need for additional information, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife website is a good place to start.

The general web address is http://www.fws.gov/international/, and the section dealing specifically with hunting is http://www.fws.gov/le/HuntFish/HuntFishInfo.htm.

HOW ABOUT THIS AS A SUBJECT FOR YOUR KIDS TO WORK ON FOR A SCHOOL ASSIGNMENT?

Y

OU N

EED T

O K

NOW!

Do you want to know more? See…

… the official CITES website… http://www.cites.org …the USFWS website… http://www.fws.gov …relevant USFWS hunting/fishing information… http://www.fws.gov/le/HuntFish/HuntFishInfo.htm

Page 26 Page 26