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Twenty-five of the 402 live Snow Leopards reported in international trade between 1975 and 2000
(Table A) were declared to be exports from range States. Of these, only two were declared as taken
from the wild, one exported from Kazakhstan to Japan, in 2000, for captive breeding purposes, and the
other exported from the Russian Federation, via Kyrgyzstan, to Germany, for scientific purposes, also in
2000. Most (339) of the 402 Snow Leoaprds were declared as captive-bred. Snow Leopards are being
successfully bred in captivity and, according to the Snow Leopard Species Survival Plan (SSP) programme
of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA), there were over 600 captive-bred Snow
Leopards in zoos worldwide, in 2002. About 275 of these are in captivity in the USA (Anon., 2003b).
Of the 339 live animals traded as captive-bred specimens, six were declared as F1-generation and for
54 specimens no source was reported.
Table B shows the the reported
purpose of transaction for live Snow
Leopards between 1975 and 2000 and
Table C the ten most important
importing and exporting Parties for the
same. CITES data show that 31 of the 33
specimens traded for commercial
purposes were captive-bred: one of the
remaining two was declared as a ‘pre-
Convention specimen’ and no source
was reported for the other.
Table B
Reported purpose of transaction for live Snow
Leopards traded between 1975 and 2000
Purpose
No. of specimens
Zoos 270
None declared 68
Commercial trade 33
Breeding in captivity 20
Scientific 6
Circus and travelling exhibition 5
Total 402
Table C
The ten most important importers and (re-)exporters of live Snow
Leopards between 1975 and 2000
Importers Quantity Exporter Quantity
(or re-exporter)
UK 48 Switzerland 83
France 33 USA 69
USA 32 Finland 48
Germany 29 Germany 44
Poland 25 UK 29
Japan 23 Soviet Union 23
Canada 23 Canada 17
Russia 16 Netherlands 13
East Germany 14 Sweden 9
China 13 Japan 8
Other States 146 Other States 59
Total 402 Total 402
Note: East Germany has been part of Germany since 1990.
Reported seizures in CITES data
The following seizures were reported in CITES data, compiled by UNEP-WCMC in 2002.
• one garment, seized in Canada, 1983, country of export not known.
• one garment, seized in the USA, exported from France in 1985.
• one garment, seized in 1986, exported from China.
• one Snow Leopard skin, exported from the UK, seized in 1990.
14 FADING FOOTPRINTS: the killing and trade of Snow Leopards