Hi all,
I thought I would chime in on the discussion of where these animals are being exported from as it is a topic I have been worried about for some time. As has been noted, the majority of Cameroonian chameleons that enter the trade are not being exported from Cameroon. In fact, they are being exported from countries where they do not occur, namely Equatorial Guinea. This is particularly true for imports into the US.
For example,
Trioceros pfefferi imports into the US have not originated from Cameroon since 2001 according to CITES trade statistics. All
T. pfefferi that have been imported since that time have originated from Equatorial Guinea, where the species does not occur. Similarly, with the exception of one shipment in 2012,
T. wiedersheimi has not been exported from Cameroon to the US since 2003, however they are exported in very large numbers from Equatorial Guinea. Further, there have only been 288
T. montium exported from Cameroon into the US since 2003. There have been 4,335
T. feae reportedly exported from Equatorial Guinea into the US since 2001, however. Now, anyone familiar with these animals knows that the number of
T. montium imported into the US since 2003 far exceeds the number reported out of Cameroon, and that few, if any
T. feae have ever been present in the trade. I also have personally unpacked a confiscated shipment of
T. feae with USFWS and confirmed for them that they were in fact
T. montium, which does not occur in Equatorial Guinea. Similarly, since 2002 there have been 389
T. quadricornis imported into the US from Cameroon and 4,916 imported into the US from Equatorial Guinea.
T. quadricornis does not occur in Equatorial Guinea.
The permits that are issued by Equatorial Guinea indicate that these animals are Wild Caught, and the permits are not reexport permits, indicating that the animals are being issued permits from Equatorial Guinea on their own. This obviously creates serious question about the integrity of the CITES Management Authority of Equatorial Guinea and points to them circumventing international wildlife laws and the management efforts of Cameroon to protect and maintain sustainable exports of these species.
Here are a couple published notes I've made of this issue, in the hopes that it would spur action from CITES. This ultimate goal is still a work in progress, but it is starting to make it into official documents and the broader literature.
First, I included note of this issue in the Chameleon Conservation chapter of "The Biology of Chameleons" (from page 206;
http://www.chamaeleonidae.com/Publications_files/Jenkins 2014.pdf):
One increase in chameleon exportation is particularly noteworthy, however. Equato- rial Guinea’s export quantities increased from 4100 individuals from 1991 to 2000, to over 16,800 between 2001 and 2010 (CITES, 2012a). In fact, between 2004 and 2010, Equatorial Guinea was the sixth largest single exporter of chameleons, but 53% of the chameleons exported during that period were of species that are not known to occur within Equatorial Guinea (Trioceros pfefferi, T. quadricornis, and T. wiedersheimi). Despite the fact that these species do not occur in Equatorial Guinea, original CITES documents (as opposed to reexport documents) were issued for animals listed as caught in the wild, raising considerable concern about circumvention of international wildlife laws and management efforts.
Second, I also made the issue known to CITES via the UNEP-WCMC while they were collecting data for the CITES Review of Significant Trade for T. quadricornis (from page 82;
http://cites.org/sites/default/files/eng/com/ac/27/E-AC27-12-04.pdf):
C. Anderson (in litt. to UNEP-WCMC, 2013) cautioned that large quantities of the species were exported from Equatorial Guinea, which is not a range State for the species. The lack of reported imports from the range States was considered to indicate potential illegal trade (C. Anderson, in litt. to UNEP-WCMC, 2013).
Anyway, it definitely is concerning to see so many of these species being exported from Equatorial Guinea.
Chris
