The Ministry Of Agriculture Legalizes The Trade Of Wildlife

Instead of working to promote the conservation of wildlife, the Greek Ministry of Agriculture is intending to sell it off, based on the presumption that Greek wildlife constitutes state property. As such, it has issued the private company Hippo G Vlahos and Sons with a special license authorizing them to capture and collect a substantial number of rare and endangered species –around 90- throughout the entire country.
According to the General Director of the Ministry’s Department of Forestry, Mr. Benides, the ‘aim’ of this project is ‘to discourage people who seek to keep wild animals as pets from going out and capturing them themselves.  The species collected will be bred and the offspring are to be sold while the initial population is returned to the wild.’

Threats already exist as a result of trading in wildlife and many species of animals are already being illegally trafficked throughout Greece and Europe. It is obvious that the implementation of the Ministry of Agriculture’s plans will lead to a complete loss of any control over the trade of wildlife, it would, in fact almost be bringing about the indirect legalization of wildlife trade, as anyone attempting to sell wild animals could claim that they have been bred in captivity.

It is worth mentioning that out of 10 turtles sold as pets, 9 usually die within the first four years of their captivity, primarily due to poor diet and inadequate living conditions (source: the British Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals)

Rough-Tailed Agama. A protected species which is included in the ministry's list

According to the licenses issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, the company is authorized to capture:
- Various bird species such as greenfinches, goldfinches and siskins ( 220 individuals from each species)
- Turtles of all Greek species, chameleons as well as Agamid lizards (320 individuals from each species)
- Terrapins, geckos, lizards, snakes, salamanders, frogs and tritons. (620 individuals from each species).

An important aspect of these licenses is the lack of any specification of the time during which capture is allowed, or any required conditions for their capture and transport. The company will therefore be able to collect birds and reptiles at any time they choose and transport them under any conditions they wish, without any restriction whatsoever.

Under international law, the collection and breeding of wildlife is only endorsed under special circumstances, with the purpose of enriching local wild populations and only when all other alternative options have been exhausted. Furthermore the implementation of such projects requires the development of a comprehensive management plan for the local populations based on sufficient scientific data and the continuous scientific monitoring of the effects of the project as it unfolds. This particular project however falls short of all the above requirements as well as the analogous purpose.

On the contrary, the logic behind the project as expressed by those in charge at the Ministry of Agriculture is in fact rather worrisome. Mr. Benides himself admits in a statement that: ‘we lack the data which would allow us to determine whether it is possible to collect 10,000 or 200 turtles from the Peloponnese but’ on a rather optimistic if not disturbingly uninformed note he continues ‘what’s 200 or 300 animals compared to the thousands that exist’..

According to the president of the Greek Herpetological Society Mrs. Marangou, ‘the entire population of the African Chameleon (Chameleo africanus) consists of 300 individuals and is confined to the area of Pylos. The licenses issued by the Ministry of Agriculture authorize the company to collect 320 individuals, in essence it entitling it to the entire population and legalizing the extinction of the species from Europe’.

‘Species which are only found in isolated areas, e.g. an island, and whose populations are small may easily become extinct and their extinction would be wholly legal. Furthermore there has been no restriction on the time of year the seizures of animals can take place.  In theory, therefore, they could be collecting solely females and during spring, which is the breeding season, if they wished’ comments the herpetologist Mrs. Dimaki.

Even the owner of the licensed company Hippo SA, Mr. Vlahos appears to be environmentally conscious and admits that the project poses a real threat of extinction to some species. As such, despite the generous offer of the Ministry, his company has decided to collect only 2% of the allowed number of species and 50-60% of the allowed number of turtles.

Balkan Terrepin. A protected species which is included in the ministry's list

The decision of the Ministry of Agriculture to issue these licenses exposes our country to international criticism, while simultaneously breaching national legislature as well as international conventions and regulations, the upholding of which Greece has committed itself to. As such, the Greek government finds itself in breach of:
- The Bern Convention for the Conservation of European wildlife and natural habitats
- The Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES)
- The E.U. council directive and decision 79/409 for the conservation of wild birds under which the capture of any wild bird is prohibited unless it is enlisted as game.
- The E.U. committee directive 92/43 for the conservation of natural habitats, wild fauna and natural flora under which Greece is required to take any measure necessary in order to avoid the intentional capture and death of many of the species included in the licenses issued by the Ministry.
- As well as national legislation, the Presidential Order 67/81 on the protection of natural flora and wild fauna.

The European committee which oversees compliance with the Bern Convention has repeatedly sent letters to the Greek Ministry of Agriculture expressing a concern over the large number of species included in the licenses and requesting that the issue be clarified as soon as possible.

The General Director of the Ministry’s Administration of Aesthetic Forests, Woodlands and Game, Mr. Petsimeris claims that the licenses are completely legal, invoking the international CITES convention on the trade of wildlife. However a letter by the president of the scientific committee of the CITES convention, Mr. Legakis, to the Minister of Agriculture Mr. Drys on the 9th of October, states that ‘since the ultimate aim of this venture is trade, according to EC regulation 338/97 the opinion of the Committee is obligatory.[...] This opinion was never asked for.’ The Ministry obviously did not consider consulting any experts on the issue necessary, not even the CITES scientific committee which has been set up by Greek government for that particular purpose.

The prompt mobilization of several environmental organizations forced the Ministry of Agriculture to back down from its original decision. Yet it has not discouraged similar attempts within different departments. As such, the Forestry Administration of the Central Macedonian District recently issued a similar license authorizing the collection of wild birds.