Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)

CITES is the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. It is an international agreement between governments, which aims to protect certain animal and plant species from over-exploitation by trade. In Scotland and the rest of the UK, this agreement is given legal authority by the Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulations 1997, known as COTES.

There were 14 recorded CITES offences in 2023-24, and one offence in 2024-25.
Figure 18: CITES offences recorded by Police Scotland, 2019-20 to 2024-25.

As described in more detail in previous annual wildlife crime reports, there was a spike in recorded CITES offences in 2021-22 (46 offences). This reflected the successful impact of Operation Tantallon – a police operation targeting crimes regarding the theft, illegal handling and trade of wild peregrine falcons. A smaller spike was seen in 2023-24 (14 offences). The majority of these offences (11) related to keeping live fish without licence, or introducing them into an inland water course without licence. The single CITES offence recorded in 2024-25 concerned the possession of wild bird eggs.

Further detail: see Tables 49 and 50 of the supporting documents for information on CITES offences by police division and type of offence.