IRELAND'S failure to ratify the UN Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) has weakened European opposition to the trade in wild animals, a UN spokesman on the convention has said.
Ireland is the only EU member which has failed to sign the UN convention aimed at curbing the trade.
Mr Berney Jacques, former deputy Secretariate General to CITES in Geneva, said wild animals which have been caught could be shipped to Ireland and sold to other EU countries as free trade exists between member states. This effectively by passed CITES legislation and measures in place in other EU countries the spokesman said.
The Government is expected to come under pressure to ratify the convention during its EU presidency. Failure to enforce CITES has been discussed at a number of meetings where it was felt that both official and non governmental representatives should press for the enforcement of CITES in the State, according to sources.
Mr Jacques said Irish officials had promised to ratify the convention for several years. "I visited Ireland last year and discussed CITES membership with officials from the wildlife service who indicated that Ireland intended to join CITES. However, since 1995 there has been no official contact with CITES officials in Geneva" said Mr Jacques.
Ireland is obliged to enforce the convention because of its EU membership.
The Department of Arts Culture and the Gaeltacht is implementing parts of CITES legislation through the wildlife service. However, the authority has difficulty in securing prosecutions against offenders as no legislation exists governing the importation of exotic animals, including plants.
The need for legislation was highlighted earlier this year when Gardai and wildlife rangers discovered an 18 month old female jaguar and a serval in a garage in Clondalkin.
A spokesman for the Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht said that amendments to the 1976 Wildlife Act would allow for CITES membership. Each CITES signatory must meet certain criteria to get membership, including the establishment of a holding facility for seized animals.