28th Meeting of the Animals Committee (AC28) of the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)

The twenty-eighth meeting of the Animals Committee (AC28) of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) convened today in Tel Aviv, Israel. In the morning, Avi Gabbay, Minister of Environmental Protection, Israel welcomed participants to the meeting, which was the first time a CITES body had met in Israel. CITES Secretary-General John Scanlon thanked the Israeli government, including the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, for hosting the event. He stressed that science lies at the heart of the Convention and scientific advice and recommendations made at the AC will provide guidance to the seventeenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP17), which will meet in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2016. He added that while CITES is both a trade and conservation convention, some issues lie outside the AC’s remit, such as animal welfare and rights, but welcomed the diverse range of views and contributions to discussions.

Carolina Caceres (Canada), AC Chair thanked participants for their commitment to support CITES Parties and the Standing Committee (SC) with the best possible science-based advice. She then opened the meeting. Participants addressed, among other issues, the Review of Significant Trade (RST) and the implementation of the Convention relating to captive-bred and ranched specimens.