Jordan- 'Scores of wild animals rescued from illicit trade in June' 

(MENAFN - Jordan Times) Inspectors from the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) and the Rangers rescued scores of wild animals and birds, including some endangered species, from the black market in June, a conservationist said.

"Several animals and birds were seized last month, including an African lion cub and a group of wild monkeys, which are globally threatened with extinction due to illicit trading," Omar Shoshan, RSCN spokesperson and head of its environmental policies and advocacy department, said on Monday.

The animals, seized as part of an ongoing campaign to combat the illicit trade in wildlife, were destined for sale either in Jordan or elsewhere in the region, he added.

The Jordan Customs Department also confiscated eagles, falcons, storks, wild squirrels and a hyena, Shoshan noted.

The animals and birds are released into nature reserves if they are local or rehabilitated and sent back to their homelands, he told The Jordan Times.

The confiscation of the animals and birds is in enforcement of Agriculture Law number 44 of the year 2002 and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which Jordan signed in 1978, the RSCN official underscored.

CITES is an international agreement between governments which aims at ensuring that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival, according to its website.

Shoshan added that illegal hunters and traders who violate environment and agriculture laws and regulations will be held legally accountable.