TROUBLED WATERS - Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

scientific and technical committees, and its specialist Working Group and Workshop on WhaleKilling Methods and Associated Welfare Issues.Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) 19Complementary to the IWC, which regulates whaling, CITES regulates trade in cetaceans. CITEScame into force in 1975 and currently has 163 Parties. Its aim is to ensure that international trade inspecimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. CITES has three appendicesin which species are listed according to their level of endangerment and the threat of trade to them.CITES lists all ‘great whale’ 20 species and some freshwater and marine cetaceans in Appendix I,which affords the highest level of protection by prohibiting their international trade for commercialpurposes. All other cetaceans are listed in Appendix II and may be traded internationally if the tradewould not cause detriment to the survival of the species. Although much of CITES (including itsresolutions) speaks in terms of conservation and sustainable trade, the preamble to the treatyrecognises “that wild fauna and flora in their many beautiful and varied forms are an irreplaceable partof the natural systems of the earth which must be protected for this and the generations to come”. Languagein both the text of the Convention and several resolutions directly pertains to the welfare andhumane treatment of live animals covered by the agreement. 21 In particular, animals must betransported humanely and CITES has adopted standards set by the International Air TransportAuthority (IATA) for the transport by air of cetaceans. As a result, shipment by air of a live cetaceanthat does not comply with IATA’s Live Animal Regulations violates the treaty and renders the exportillegal.114A REVIEW OF THE WELFARE IMPLICATIONS OF MODERN WHALING ACTIVITIESCITES has adopted several resolutions that relate to whales which were consolidated in 2000 inResolution 11.4 on Conservation of Cetaceans, Trade in Cetacean Specimens and the Relationshipwith the International Whaling Commission. This recognises the primacy of the IWC and seekscooperation between the two organisations. The IWC has reciprocated with a series of Resolutionswelcoming the continuing cooperation between CITES and the IWC on issues related to trade inwhale products, and urging all governments to continue to support IWC and CITES obligationswith respect to this issue 22 .The Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) 23The Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) (also known as the Bonn Convention) aims toconserve terrestrial, marine and avian migratory species throughout their range on a global scale.The treaty entered into force in 1983 and currently has 84 Parties. CMS lists species in appendicesaccording to their biological status and need for protection, and directs special attention toendangered species, and to populations or species whose habitat is threatened.Importantly, migration is defined by CMS as: “the entire population or any geographically separate partof the population of any species or lower taxon of wild animals, a significant proportion of whose memberscyclically and predictably cross one or more national jurisdictional boundaries” 24 . By 1985, CMS hadagreed that migration included international waters (outside of national sovereignty) and thatconservation and management plans should extend into international waters (CMS 1985).For Appendix I species, CMS urges states into whose waters cetaceans range to remove obstacles tomigration, prohibit takes, restore habitats, and control factors that threaten the species’ survival 25 .Uniquely, its Appendix II lists migratory species that require, or would benefit significantly from,