Posted at the request of USFWS:
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Dear Pet Enthusiast:

The 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP15) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was recently held in Doha, Qatar, March 13-25, 2010. We are contacting you to make you aware of changes to the CITES Appendices that resulted from this meeting (CoP15) and may be of interest to you and your associates.

Enclosed you will find an announcement that explains the changes to the Appendices for several species of reptiles, amphibians, and a beetle species. These changes will become effective June 23, 2010. We would appreciate your distribution of this information to interested list server members and colleagues.

If you have questions about CITES or these listings in particular, you may contact Biologist Mary Cogliano at Mary_Cogliano@fws.gov. Thank you for your assistance in the dissemination of this information.




Sincerely,


Rosemarie Gnam, Ph.D.
Chief, Division of Scientific Authority



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Public Outreach Information-CoP 15 listings


The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) wishes to inform stakeholders of recent changes to the Appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) affecting reptiles, amphibians, and insects. The changes noted below result from recent decisions that were made at the 15th Meeting of the CITES Conference of the Parties (CoP15) held in Doha, Qatar, March 13-25, 2010. These changes to the Appendices will become effective on June 23, 2010.

Three spiny-tailed iguana species endemic to Honduras, Ctenosaura bakeri, C. oedirhina, and C. melanosterna and the endemic Guatemalan spiny-tailed iguana, Ctenosaura palearis, were included in Appendix II. In addition, five species of tree frogs, Agalychnis moreletii, A. callidryas, A. annae, A. saltator, and A. spurrelli, which are native to Mexico and one or more countries in Central and South America, were also included in Appendix II. Specimens of Appendix-II species require CITES export documents issued by the exporting country prior to entering international trade.

The Kaiser’s spotted newt (Neurergus kaiseri), endemic to Iran, was included in Appendix I. Appendix I includes species that are threatened with extinction, and trade in specimens of these species is subject to strict regulation. International trade in specimens of these species is only authorized in exceptional circumstances, such as for scientific research or zoological breeding and display. CITES prohibits commercial international trade in specimens of Appendix-I species. Specimens of Appendix-I species require the issuance of CITES documents by both the importing and exporting countries prior to entering international trade.

Finally, the satanas beetle (Dynastes satanas), the only rhinoceros beetle endemic to Bolivia, was included in Appendix II. Although there are eight species of rhinoceros beetle in the genus Dynastes, two of which are native to the United States and six of which occur in the New World tropics, Dynastes satanas is the only rhinoceros beetle that is included in the CITES Appendices. Specimens of Appendix-II species require CITES export documents issued by the exporting country prior to entering international trade.

Information on U.S. permitting requirements and procedures for obtaining permits can be found at: http://www.fws.gov/permits/. To obtain information on the permitting requirements of other countries, refer to the list of national contacts found at www.cites.org/cms/index.php/lang-en/component/ncd/. If you have any further questions about changes to the CITES Appendices, please contact the Division of Scientific Authority at: scientificauthority@fws.gov. This information will also be posted on our website at www.fws.gov/international/.

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