Appendix E 
International Agreements 
Governing Animal Use 
Convention on International Trade 
in Endangered Species 
In 1973, the Convention on International Trade in 
Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES) was 
signed by 61 nations. It has since been ratified by a 
total of 81 separate nations and has been enforced in 
the United States since 1977 (10,11). 
In addition to protecting animals from extinction, 
the Convention specifies in seven different places that 
the Management Authority must be “satisfied that any 
living specimen will be so transported and cared for 
as to minimize the risk of injury, damage to health or 
cruel treatment.” CITES is administered on an inter- 
national basis by the International Union for the Con- 
servation of Nature and Natural Resources headquar- 
tered in Gland, Switzerland. Endangered plants and 
animals are listed in three Appendixes to the Conven- 
tion, according to level of endangerment. For purposes 
of monitoring, all primates have been included in Ap- 
pendix II ("Threatened”) except chimpanzees, which 
are classified as “Endangered." Under CITES provi- 
sions, the effect of the Appendix n classification has 
been to require export permits for all listed primates. 
The U.S. agency responsible for administration of 
CITES provisions is the Research Division of the Fish 
and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior, which 
has additional responsibilities regarding international 
trade in endangered or threatened species under Sec- 
tion 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973. (For a 
brief discussion of how this act affects experimenta- 
tion in the United States, see ch. 13.) Current CITES 
Appendixes listings, by species of wildlife and family 
of plants, can be found in part 23 of title 50 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations ; lists of endangered and 
threatened wildlife species and plant families affected 
by the Endangered Species Act are found in part 17. 
The Convention’s importance to research is twofold. 
First, it has limited trade in nonhuman primates and 
a few other species favored at one time or another 
in experiments (1). Second, continued review of the 
Convention by signatories has served as a forum for 
discussion of protection of laboratory animals. CITES 
signatories meet periodically in conferences, convened 
under CITES provisions, to discuss the required clas- 
sification of species according to the terms of the Con- 
vention. Under regulations promulgated by the Fish 
and Wildlife Service (50 CFR 23.31-.39), members of 
the public must be given notice of the U.S. negotiat- 
ing position at CITES conferences and an opportunity 
to provide information and comments on the proposed 
agenda, including at least one public meeting. Humane 
groups have used these meetings to raise the issue of 
humane treatment of laboratory -animal species in re- 
lation to the Convention’s articles (12). Recently, for 
example, CITES delegates were petitioned to ratify 
proposed interpretations of the Convention to reach 
that very question. The petition was ruled outside the 
terms of the Convention (9). 
Bans on Exporting Primates 
From time to time, nations with indigenous popula- 
tions of nonhuman primates that have been in demand 
for various types of traditional research have consid- 
ered or implemented prohibitions on their export, ei- 
ther to protect dwindling populations or because of 
high mortality rates suffered in transit. India ordered 
such a ban in 1955, for the latter reason. Because rhe- 
sus monkeys were in demand for testing polio vaccines 
at the time, India agreed to reopen trade with the 
United States on condition that the Surgeon General 
sign a certificate of need for each order of monkeys, 
with assurances that they be used humanely and only 
for medical research and vaccine production. The ban 
was reimposed by the Indian Government when it was 
revealed that military experiments, specifically pro- 
hibited under the agreement, were being done with 
some of the monkeys. Other countries have consid- 
ered similar bans or have imposed ceilings on exports. 
Bans were enacted in Malaysia and Bolivia in 1984, and 
a U.S. dealer was ousted from Bangladesh in 1979 for 
selling Rhesus monkeys for military research (5). Some 
commentators have been critical of U.S. estimates of 
need for nonhuman primates in research, finding them 
overstated, and have faulted the research community 
for attempts to circumvent export bans (13). 
Draft Convention of the 
Council of Europe 
The Council of Europe, headquartered in Stras- 
bourg, France, and with 21 member countries, was 
organized in 1949 to work for greater European unity, 
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