The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species is the primary international framework for regulating wildlife trade, but gaps in coverage and enforcement leave many species inadequately protected.
CITES provides the essential international framework for wildlife trade regulation, but its effectiveness is constrained by enforcement capacity, the pace of listing decisions, and the exclusion of domestic trade from its scope. Animals captured or bred legally in one country can be sold legally within that country without any CITES protection regardless of welfare concerns. The welfare dimension of wildlife trade — the suffering of captured, transported, and held animals — is not CITES' primary mandate, which focuses on species survival. However, welfare and conservation are often aligned: reducing trade volume reduces both species pressure and the individual suffering of traded animals. CITES reform discussions increasingly include welfare considerations alongside conservation biology, reflecting growing recognition that the two frameworks are complementary.