ABSTRACT
Wildlife trade regulation can be seen from very different perspectives. Some people would like to see it as a first step toward the containment of wildlife utilization, and the prevention of the decline of individual species in other countries. Others would like to see it as a licence to use the wildlife trade for the purposes of social development, and they may view other objectives as infringements upon national sovereignty. Is there any prospect for the regulation of the wildlife trade to accomplish a broad set of objectives consonant with this wide range of perspectives: the encouragement of growth and development, and the avoidance of wildlife depletion? Or will it always remain necessary to embrace one of the two polar positions: a trade proponent or a trade protectionist?
