JUSTICE - No. 65

17 Fall 2020 26. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora Signed at Washington, D.C., on 3 March 1973, Amended at Bonn, on 22 June 1979 and at Gaborone, on 30 April 1983. 27. See supra note 17. 28. D. Challender, NguyenVan,T., Shepherd, C., Krishnasamy, K., Wang, A., Lee, B., Panjang, E., Fletcher, L., Heng, S., Seah Han Ming, J., Olsson, A., Nguyen The Truong, A., NguyenVan, Q. and Chung,Y.“Manis javanica.The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species,”R ED L IST (2014), available at http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-2.RLTS. T12763A45222303.en . 29. Julie Ayling, “A Regulatory Approach to Demand Reduction in the Illegal Wildlife Market,”RegNet Research Papers 2015 No. 82, R EGULATORY I NSTITUTIONS N ETWORK (2015), available at https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers. cfm?abstract_id=2634303 30. Rosalind Reeve, P OLICING I NTERNATIONAL T RADE IN E NDANGERED S PECIES : T HE C ITES T REATY AND A GREEMENT (Routledge, 2000). According to Reeve, as of 2002, 50% of all parties lacked one or more of these requirements. 31. Brett R. Scheffers, Brunno Oliveira, Leuan Lamb and David P Edwards,“Global Wildlife Trade Across the Tree of Life,” S CIENCE , Vol. 366, Issue 6461, pp. 71-76 (Oct. 4, 2019). 32. For the text of a proposed umbrella treaty to deal with all aspects of animal issues, including transportation of animals, methods of taking wildlife, care of exhibited wildlife and protection from cruel treatment, and explanation of the need for such a treaty, see Committee for the Convention for the Protection of Animals, “International Convention for the Protection of Animals.”A NIMAL L EGAL AND H ISTORICAL C ENTER (April 4, 1988), available at https://www.animallaw . info/treaty/international-convention-protection- animals#:~:text=Summary%3A,and%20protection%20 from%20cruel%20treatment of severe environmental pressures.” 25 They consider the coronavirus to be a warning for us to mend our broken relationship with nature. Protection of wildlife is not a field devoid of international law. There are several international conventions in this area, for instance the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). 26 The aim of this convention is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of the species in the wild, and it accords varying degrees of protection to more than 37,000 species of animals and plants. 27 However, CITES does not have any binding mechanism to resolve disputes, and the means at its disposal to enforce its obligations leave much to be desired. Pangolins, for instance, are reportedly the most heavily traded of all mammal species. 28 All the Asian species are listed in Appendix II of CITES (meaning that they require an export permit), and a zero annual export quota has been established for specimens removed from the wild and traded primarily for commercial purposes. Yet trade continues and Sunda and Chinese pangolins are now listed as critically endangered. 29 Many of the countries that signed and ratified CITES lack one or more of the four major requirements for a Party: designation of Management and Scientific Authorities; laws prohibiting trade in violation of CITES; penalties for such trade; and laws providing for the confiscation of illegally traded specimens. 30 Several other international conventions exist, including multilateral and regional conventions, all aimed at preserving wild animals and endangered species, and to preserve biodiversity. These include the UN Biodiversity Convention, the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, and the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, to mention just a few. Each has its advantages and shortcomings. However, trade in wild animals has not decreased, but instead, has significantly increased over the last decades. 31 Furthermore, no general international convention against cruelty to animals exists, although such a treaty has been proposed. 32 The pandemic crisis of 2020 should make us realize that change in this field is long overdue and global cooperative action is urgently needed. If the objective of preserving wildlife and its habitat was seen in the past as conflicting with economic interests, with the latter quite clearly been given priority, we now see that this objective is also very much in the economic interest of the world. The economic slump caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is enormous, not to mention the loss of life (as of December 2020, over 1,774,000 deaths and rising). This clearly outweighs any economic gain from illegal trade in wild and endangered animals. The tools in the battle to preserve wildlife, natural habitat and biodiversity are both legal, economic and educational and now we have an opportunity to convince governments to undertake joint and effective action. As Jewish jurists, we could lead the call for such action, considering that the imperative to preserve nature and the prohibition against cruelty toward animals is deeply