Photo: USFWS, M. Lockhar…

International species protection

The Washington Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species www.cites.org/eng/disc/text.shtml (text of the CITES convention) regulates international trade in endangered species of wild animals and plants and products derived from them. The implementation of the Convention is meant to protect over 3,000 animal species and 30,000 plant species threatened by extinction due to international trade. In Austria, the Convention has been in force since 1982. The statutory range of punishment provides for fines between € 726 and € 36,336; imprisonment of up to two years is possible.