Expertise Against Illegal Animal Trading

Our researchers are often asked for expert advice to help create international agreements. Their role is to inform legislators and to identify specimens that are checked or seized by customs. CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna) is one such agreement. It aims to regulate the trade in threatened plant and animal species.

The Siberian tiger, Panthera tigris altaica, has been listed in Annex I of CITES since 22 October 1987. According to the WWF, there were less than 3200 of these animals left in the wild in 2010! The specimen displayed in this room was confiscated and entrusted to the museum by the Antwerp legal authorities in 2006.