Suva, Fiji | 5 November 2026
Fiji’s objection to a proposed commercial captive-breeding registration in Canada for two iguana species native to Fiji drew broad support at the 81st meeting of the Standing Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), held in Geneva from 2–6 November 2026. The Committee did not accept the registration at the meeting and will consider the matter again at its 82nd meeting (SC82), with Canada agreeing to continue its dialogue with Fiji. The Committee also agreed that imports of Fijian iguanas into India will be investigated.
New Zealand, Brazil, Panama, the Dominican Republic, and Kenya supported Fiji’s objection at the meeting, while four Parties supported the registration.
“This is a good outcome for Fiji and for the credibility of CITES. Support from Parties across Africa, the Americas and Oceania reflects a shared view that the lawful origin of founding stock must be established before any commercial breeding operation is registered. We thank our Deputy Permanent Representative in Geneva, Ms Keleni Seruvatu, for presenting Fiji’s case for stronger scrutiny of the proposed commercial breeding facility. We also thank every Party that stood with us,” said Dr Sivendra Michael, Permanent Secretary for Environment and Climate Change and Chair of Fiji’s CITES Management Authority.
The Government of Fiji maintains its objection to the proposed registration in Canada of a captive-breeding operation for two Appendix-I iguana species native to Fiji, the Central Fijian banded iguana (Brachylophus bulabula) and the Fiji banded iguana (Brachylophus fasciatus), because the documentation submitted to date does not adequately establish the lawful origin of the founding stock.
The application, considered under Agenda Item 53.3, raises a fundamental question for the international wildlife trade system: can a commercial breeding operation be registered when the chain of evidence tracing its original breeding stock to lawful acquisition remains unresolved?
Fiji’s CITES Management Authority has no record of authorizing live exports of these species to Europe, or to the pet trade anywhere, since their listing in CITES Appendix I in 1981. While the immediate parental stock is documented as having been imported into Canada from breeding operations in Austria and the United Kingdom, Fiji’s concern is that these later transactions do not, on their own, establish the lawful origin of the original founder animals. These outstanding questions must be answered by the applicant Party with reliable, verifiable documentation. Breeding in captivity, over however many generations, does not make an unlawful origin lawful.
These iguanas are part of Fiji’s natural heritage, and their protection is not only a national responsibility; it is a shared responsibility under international conservation commitments.
“Fiji cannot support a registration process that leaves serious questions about the legal origin of the founding stock unresolved. The underlying concern is that registration without resolving the provenance questions could create the first legal commercial pathway for these Appendix-I species and increase the risk that specimens originating from unlawful collection could be presented in trade as captive-bred. Fiji makes no allegation of wrongdoing against the Canadian operator. What remains unresolved is the origin of the founder stock, and that must be settled before any registration is accepted,” Dr Michael said.
The issue extends beyond one facility. Effective wildlife-trade controls depend on credible records, traceability and consistent application of the rules. If the origin of founder stock cannot be adequately verified, confidence in captive-breeding registration, and in the safeguards intended to prevent illegal wildlife trade, may be weakened.
Australia, New Zealand, Solomon Islands and Tonga lodged a joint objection in support of Fiji’s position, and the United States of America lodged a separate objection. The CITES Secretariat referred the objections from Fiji and the United States to the CITES Animals Committee for review in October 2025.
Fiji welcomes Canada’s agreement to continue the dialogue and stands ready to work with Canada ahead of SC82, including on genetic analysis, but that work must come before registration, not after it.
Fiji has also called, under Agenda Item 33.8 on the Application of Article XIII in India, for a full investigation into imports of Fijian iguanas into India. CITES Trade Database records show that at least 100 Fijian iguanas of all three species were imported into India from Austria: 70 Fiji crested iguanas (Brachylophus vitiensis), 22 Fiji banded iguanas and eight Central Fijian banded iguanas.
The Fiji crested iguana, which is endemic to Fiji and Critically Endangered, has only ever been exported from Fiji to bona fide zoos, never for the pet trade. It first appeared in international trade from Mali, with no record of any lawful import. At Fiji’s request, the CITES Secretariat issued Notification to the Parties No. 2025/081 in June 2025, asking all Parties not to issue permits for the species without first consulting Fiji’s CITES Management Authority.
Fiji asked that this trade, and any subsequent trade in these species into India, be added to the unresolved cases already under investigation under Agenda Item 33.8. The Committee agreed.
More broadly, Fiji urges all Parties to apply the same rigorous standard of lawful acquisition and traceability to every proposed commercial breeding operation and every permit involving Appendix-I species. Conservation credibility depends on evidence, accountability, and a precautionary approach that avoids creating commercial incentives that could put vulnerable wild populations at greater risk.