.The genesis of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora 1 (popularly referred to as “the CITES”) is traceable in the early 1960’s when rampant trade in endangered wild animal species and their products was at its peak. Noting the imminent danger facing humankind and the animal kingdom, due to the accelerated pace of wildlife carnage, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) summoned governments in 1963 with a view to deliberating measures to control and regulate the export, transit and importation of rare and endangered wild animal species. 2 Further to the IUCN initiative, the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment recommended that a special conference of Parties be convened in order to adopt a Convention whose implementation would effectively control and regulate international trade in certain specified species of wild animals and plants