IV 

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; 


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•HRES 1180 IH 

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; 


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•HRES 1180 IH 

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; 


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•HRES 1180 IH 

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 eleVerDate Nov 24 2008 22:01 Mar 12, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1180.IH HR1180

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•HRES 1180 IH 

phant downlisting and one-time ivory sale proposals for 

a 20-year period: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that, at the 15th meeting of the Conference 

3 of the Parties, the United States delegation to the Conven4 tion on International Trade in Endangered Species of 

5 Wild Fauna and Flora should— 

6 (1) continue to support its proposal to move the 

7 polar bear from Appendix II to Appendix I; 

8 (2) withdraw its proposal to remove the bobcat 

9 from Appendix II; 

10 (3) continue to support its proposals to include 

11 the scalloped hammerhead, great hammerhead, 

12 smooth hammerhead, sandbar, dusky, and whitetip 

13 sharks in Appendix II; 

14 (4) support Palau and Sweden’s proposals to 

15 include the spiny dogfishes and porbeagle sharks in 

16 Appendix II; 

17 (5) support Monaco’s proposal to include the 

18 bluefin tuna in Appendix I; and 

19 (6) support the protection of African elephants 

20 by opposing proposals to downlist them from Appen21 dix I to Appendix II as well as one-time ivory sale 

22 proposals. 

Æ 


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