The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) may propose amendments to the Appendices for the upcoming Conference of the Parties (CoP) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which will be held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from November 24 to December 5, 2025. NOTE: There is not yet a formal proposal from FWS to CITES.
The comment deadline is 1/27/2025 at 11:59 pm EST (revised date). Click the green SUBMIT A PUBLIC COMMENT button at the link. FWS is seeking additional biological or trade information on these species. If you import or export (national borders) any species listed for proposed amendments, you should provide this information to FWS.
The potential herp amendments are listed below, and you can read all amendments and the full Federal Register notice at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/12/26/2024-30698/conference-of-the-parties-to-the-convention-on-international-trade-in-endangered-species-of-wild. You can find additional species and potential amendment proposals at https://www.fws.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2024-12/final-extended-fr-animals-plants-table-12_26_24-508.pdf.
Greater protection for wild animals is warranted, but those protections sometimes go too far and do not allow for the legal trade of animals, even those bred under human care. Often, responsible breeders are treated as if they are black market traffickers. Many groups are working hard to put an end to all animals in our lives, from pets to livestock to zoos. One issue caused by CITES listings and uplistings is that they end or overburden legal trade (depending on the listing). Even businesses that have been legally breeding and selling animals under extensive oversight and regulation will be terminated. Appropriate provisions are not even provided to those breeding species prior to listings. CITES is an international treaty dealing with national imports and exports, not interstate or intrastate trade.
Reptiles
- Order Testudines or all Freshwater turtles [~348 species, ~139 not listed in CITES or listed as Appendix III]—Include all species in at least Appendix II [~139 species]; transfer all IUCN-assessed threatened or endangered species from Appendix II to Appendix I (we are considering all native species not currently listed in Appendix II = 22 native species as well as 2 native species that are threatened or endangered species for Appendix I—see turtle species below)
- * Western pond turtle ( Actinemys marmorata)—Include all species not currently listed in Appendix II
- * Southwestern pond turtle ( Actinemys pallida)—Include all species not currently listed in Appendix II
- * Painted turtle ( Chrysemys picta) (including C. p. dorsalis)—Include all species not currently listed in Appendix II
- * Chicken turtle ( Deirochelys reticularia)—Include all species not currently listed in Appendix II
- * Alabama red-bellied turtle ( Pseudemys alabamensis)—Include all species not currently listed in Appendix II
- * Eastern river cooter ( Pseudemys concinna)—Include all species not currently listed in Appendix II
- * Florida cooter ( Pseudemys floridana)—Include all species not currently listed in Appendix II
- * Rio Grande cooter ( Pseudemys gorzugi)—Include all species not currently listed in Appendix II
- * Florida redbelly turtle ( Pseudemys nelsoni)—Include all species not currently listed in Appendix II
- * Peninsula cooter ( Pseudemys peninsularis)—Include all species not currently listed in Appendix II
- * Northern red-bellied turtle ( Pseudemys rubriventris)—Include all species not currently listed in Appendix II
- * Texas river cooter ( Pseudemys texana)—Include all species not currently listed in Appendix II
- * Big Bend slider ( Trachemys gaigeae)—Include all species not currently listed in Appendix II
- * Red-eared slider ( Trachemys scripta)—Include all species not currently listed in Appendix II 23.
- * Cagle’s map turtle ( Graptemys caglei)—Include all species not currently listed in Appendix II
- * Northern map turtle ( Graptemys geographica)—Include all species not currently listed in Appendix II 25.
- * Black-knobbed map turtle ( Graptemys nigrinoda)—Include all species not currently listed in Appendix II
- * Ringed map turtle ( Graptemys oculifera)—Include all species not currently listed in Appendix II
- * Ouachita map turtle ( Graptemys ouachitensis)—Include all species not currently listed in Appendix II
- * False map turtle ( Graptemys pseudogeographica)—Include all species not currently listed in Appendix II
- * Texas map turtle ( Graptemys versa)—Include all species not currently listed in Appendix II
- * Yellow-blotched sawback ( Graptemys flavimaculata)—Include all species not currently listed in Appendix II
- * Spotted turtle ( Clemmys guttata)—Transfer from Appendix II to Appendix I
- * Blanding’s turtle ( Emydoidea blandingii)—Transfer from Appendix II to Appendix I
- Home’s hingeback tortoise ( Kinixys homeana)—Transfer from Appendix II to Appendix I
- * Rattlesnakes ( Crotalusspp. [44 species])—Add to Appendix II [44 species]
- * Timber rattlesnake ( Crotalus horridus)—Add to Appendix II
- * Western rattlesnake ( Crotalus oreganus)—Add to Appendix II
- * Prairie rattlesnake ( Crotalus viridis)—Add to Appendix II
- Blue-spotted tree monitor ( Varanus macraei)—Transfer from Appendix II to Appendix I
Amphibians
- Sonoran Desert Toad ( Incilius alvarius)—Add to Appendix II
