Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Are panther chams endangere? Cuz it said in 1 book. How can you get them if are endangered?

CITES protects animals in three different categories depending on how threatened they are. I beleive that panther chams are protected under the lowest of the three, meaning that their import is monitored but not completely prohibited. there are forms and such that need to be filled to impot/export them. also, a lot of panther chams that you would get from a pet store are cb or ch. the ones that are imported generally are bought by experienced breeders.
~Lindsay
PS, i may not be 100% correct so feel free to add/change any of this

Basically the CITES treaty has several lists of species in the appendices. Species that are listed as threatened or endangered are listed in Appendix I and cannot be exported, imported, bought, sold, etc. for any other reason than for reintroduction, research or captive breeding for species recovery. This includes any part of the species such as a bone, skin, seed, flower etc. Appendix II species may be exported, bought and sold, but the amount of trade is controlled through permitting and quotas. Appendix III species are not really regulated much. Chameleons as a family are listed under II. The decision to list any species as Appendix I, II, III is made by the CITES member nations at meetings held about every 2 years. BUT, the CITES membership can impose export bans on nations who can't demonstrate that their species with commercial value can tolerate wild capture and trade pressure. Madagascar has had a trade ban imposed for many of their native species including all but 4 chameleons. Nations can also decide not to allow importation of specific species they feel should not be traded.