The 16th annual meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has declined to remove the Siamese crocodile from its most highly protected category.
Despite lobbying efforts from the Thai delegation, the Siamese crocodile will continue to be protected under Appendix I of CITES, meaning essentially that all international trade in the animal and its byproducts will remain illegal.
The CITES convention took issue with Thailand’s claim that its population of Siamese crocodiles had expanded to the point at which it was safe to export the crocodiles and their derivative products to other countries.
According to the Nation, Thailand currently has 200 crocodiles in the wild and approximately 200,000 Siamese crocodiles in commercial farms.
