U.N. Conference Turns Down
"We applaud the decision to protect these animals, said Teresa M. Telecky, Ph.D., director of the wildlife trade program for The Humane Society of the United States/Humane Society International. "Bobcats are the most highly traded cat species in the world, and CITES protection is vital to insure that trade does not harm bobcat or other related lynx populations."
The bobcat is a small, spotted wild cat native to
The bobcat is listed on CITES Appendix II, which means that skins can be exported only if the exporting country makes a scientifically-based finding that the export will not cause a detriment to the survival of the species. The bobcat also is listed on Appendix II because the fur looks like the fur of other small, spotted cats that are listed on CITES Appendix I, which bans international trade, including the Critically Endangered Iberian lynx as well as other endangered and threatened lynx species including the Eurasian lynx, Canada lynx and Mexican bobcat.
The United States proposed to remove CITES protection for the bobcat despite the fact that the most recent population estimate for the United States is over 25 years old and there are no population estimates for Canada or Mexico; the wild population of bobcat is considered to be decreasing; there is illegal trade in endangered and threatened lynx species on CITES Appendix I; and bobcat skins cannot be distinguished from those of other lynx species, even by forensic analysis.
The proposal was opposed by European countries and
Contacts:
Teresa Telecky, HSUS/HSI (
Susan Bluttman, HSUS, 240-453-9892
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Humane Society International is the international arm of The Humane Society of the
Humane Society International
humanesociety.org <http://www.humanesociety.org/>
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