Celebration Days – Fox Protection International

National Endangered Species Day

Today is National Endangered Species Day!

Take a moment today to think about the #EndangeredSpecies across the globe. National Endangered Species Day is the third Friday in May and is a day to share the importance of wildlife conservation and restoration.

In 1973 the Endangered Species Act was passed. The ESA is key legislation for both domestic and international conservation efforts by providing a framework to protect endangered and threatened species, as well as their habitats. The ESA helps the USA meet its international obligations under the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the Western Hemisphere Convention.

Some endangered species of foxes include the San Joaquin kit fox, a subspecies of the Kit fox which is listed as endangered on the US endangered species list and the Santa Catalina Island fox which is currently only listed as threatened. Other species like the Darwin’s Fox and Simien fox are considered Endangered by the ICUN. While not all species of foxes are considered threatened or endangered, they are all important members of the global ecosystem.

Read below to learn more about a vulnerable species who has yet to receive any protections:

Many species that need protections are not covered under the US ESA including the Sierra Nevada Red fox, a subspecies of the Red fox. Although the Red fox is well-known and widespread, this subspecies which is genetically and geographically distinct from other red foxes are some of the rarest mammals in North America. This subspecies is limited to two small populations in California that may consist of less than 50 individuals. After reaching a legal agreement in 2013 with the Center for Biological Diversity, the US Fish & Wildlife Service was required to make a decision regarding protecting the fox by 2015. The US Fish & Wildlife Service only added the species to a candidate waiting list and has still failed to provide any protections.

Photo credit: USFWS Pacific Southwest Region licensed under CC BY 2.0.

World Wildlife Day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2013 as a way to celebrate and raise awareness of the world’s wild animals and plants. March 3 was selected since it was the signature day of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1973.

The theme of the 2021 World Wildlife Day is Forests and Livelihoods: Sustaining People and Planet. This theme was selected to highlight the importance that forest ecosystems and species play in the lives of hundreds of millions of people globally. This theme also supports some of the UN sustainable development goals and their promises to ensure sustainable use of resources and land conservation.

There are a number of fox species listed in the CITES appendices. The Blanford’s fox, Andean fox, Darwin’s fox, South American gray fox, Pampas fox, Crab-eating fox, and Fennec fox are all listed in Appendix II and the Bengal fox and three subspecies of red fox found in India are listed in Appendix III.