The Environment and Parks Department monitors the possession and trade of plants and animals of protected species.
Since many species cannot be successfully protected at the national level alone, many states - including the Federal Republic of Germany - have committed themselves in international conventions to control trade in endangered species through appropriate measures and to effectively combat illegal trade. To date, around 150 important trading states have acceded to the Washington Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (WA) of 1973 (CITES), thereby committing themselves to enacting trade and possession restrictions for endangered and threatened species where necessary.
Further information can be obtained, for example, from the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation.