[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1180 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1180

  Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the 
 policy of the United States on wild animals at the Conference of the 
Parties of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species 
                        of Wild Fauna and Flora.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 12, 2010

   Mr. Hastings of Florida (for himself, Ms. Lee of California, Mr. 
   Faleomavaega, and Ms. Wasserman Schultz) submitted the following 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the 
 policy of the United States on wild animals at the Conference of the 
Parties of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species 
                        of Wild Fauna and Flora.

Whereas the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild 
        Fauna and Flora (the Convention) was concluded on March 3, 1973, with 
        the United States as an original signatory nation;
Whereas 175 nations are now party to the Convention;
Whereas the aim of the Convention is to regulate international trade in 
        endangered species to ensure that it does not threaten their survival;
Whereas international wildlife trade is estimated to be worth billions of 
        dollars a year and to include hundreds of millions of live plants and 
        animals and derived products such as food, leather, fur, and timber;
Whereas high levels of exploitation of and trade in wild animals and plants, 
        together with other factors such as habitat loss, are capable of 
        bringing some species close to extinction;
Whereas parties to the Convention have an international obligation and 
        responsibility to protect endangered animals and plants worldwide;
Whereas it has been accepted that adherence to protective measures adopted by 
        the parties to the Convention has benefited the conservation of animals 
        and plants;
Whereas the species covered by the Convention are listed in 3 Appendices, 
        according to the degree of protection they need;
Whereas species listed on Appendix I of the Convention are threatened with 
        extinction;
Whereas international commercial trade in species and products made with species 
        listed on Appendix I is permitted only in exceptional circumstances;
Whereas Appendix II includes species that are not necessarily threatened with 
        extinction but that may become so unless trade is closely controlled;
Whereas Appendix III is a list of species included at the request of a party 
        that already regulates trade in the species and that needs the 
        cooperation of other countries to prevent unsustainable or illegal 
        exploitation;
Whereas the parties of the Convention meet every 2 to 3 years at the Conference 
        of the Parties to review the status of species in danger of extinction 
        and to establish trade restrictions with respect to endangered species;
Whereas the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties will be held in March 
        2010;
Whereas, as sea ice declines, polar bears (Ursus maritimus) will not be able to 
        adapt to a terrestrial-based life resulting in increased mortality, 
        reduced reproduction, increased human-bear conflicts, and overall 
        drastic decline of populations;
Whereas the United States has proposed to move the polar bear from Appendix II 
        to Appendix I;
Whereas the bobcat (Lynx rufus) is very similar in appearance to and difficultly 
        distinguishable from other imperiled species including the Iberian and 
        Eurasian lynx, and has been listed on Appendix II since 1977 for that 
        reason;
Whereas delisting the bobcat may result in more skins on the market, poaching 
        incentives, illegal trade, and decline of other Lynx populations;
Whereas the United States has proposed to remove the bobcat from Appendix II;
Whereas the scalloped hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini), great hammerhead (Sphyrna 
        mokarran), smooth hammerhead (Sphyrna zygaena), sandbar (Carcharhinus 
        plumbeus), dusky (Carcharhinus obscurus), and whitetip (Carcharhinus 
        longimanus) sharks are been severely depleted with declines as high as 
        99 percent in some areas as a result of the high demand for their fins;
Whereas the United States and Palau have proposed to include these sharks in 
        Appendix II;
Whereas the over-exploitation of spiny dogfishes (Squalus acanthias) and 
        porbeagle sharks (Lamna nasus) due to the continued demand for their 
        meat have resulted in severe declines of up to 75 percent in some 
        populations;
Whereas Sweden and Palau have proposed to include these sharks in Appendix II;
Whereas overfishing, both legal and illegal, increased consumer demand, and 
        inadequate enforcement of infractions have led to historically low 
        populations of northern and Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus);
Whereas Monaco has proposed to include the bluefin tuna in Appendix I;
Whereas between 1979 and 1989, more than 600,000 African elephants (Loxodonta 
        africana) were killed for their ivory, cutting the continent's 
        population in half;
Whereas the 14th Conference of the Parties of the Convention on International 
        Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora permitted 3 years 
        ago a one-time sale of stockpiled ivory from Botswana, South Africa, 
        Zimbabwe, and Namibia to China and Japan in exchange of a 9-year 
        moratorium on any proposals to relax international trade controls on 
        African elephants;
Whereas poaching has continued with an estimated 38,000 elephants killed 
        annually and 23.2 tons of poached ivory seized since 2007; and
Whereas Tanzania and Zambia have introduced proposals to downlist their elephant 
        populations from Appendix I to Appendix II, while Congo, Ghana, Kenya, 
        Liberia, Mali, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone have proposed to prohibit 
        elephant downlisting and one-time ivory sale proposals for a 20-year 
        period: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives 
that, at the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties, the United 
States delegation to the Convention on International Trade in 
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora should--
            (1) continue to support its proposal to move the polar bear 
        from Appendix II to Appendix I;
            (2) withdraw its proposal to remove the bobcat from 
        Appendix II;
            (3) continue to support its proposals to include the 
        scalloped hammerhead, great hammerhead, smooth hammerhead, 
        sandbar, dusky, and whitetip sharks in Appendix II;
            (4) support Palau and Sweden's proposals to include the 
        spiny dogfishes and porbeagle sharks in Appendix II;
            (5) support Monaco's proposal to include the bluefin tuna 
        in Appendix I; and
            (6) support the protection of African elephants by opposing 
        proposals to downlist them from Appendix I to Appendix II as 
        well as one-time ivory sale proposals.
                                 <all>