Trade in Africa’s iconic giraffes and their parts will now be strictly monitored and regulated.
A trader requires an export permit or re-export certificate.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) gave the species more protection on Thursday.
CITES is an international agreement among governments to ensure international trade in wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.
In a notice to parties, CITES said it had amended the provisions that now give giraffes better protection.
Previously, there were no international regulations governing the trade in giraffes and their body parts.
That led to the decline of their numbers by 40 per cent over the past 30 years.
Habitat loss, illegal hunting for bush meat and ecological changes are the main threats to the giraffe.
Trading in giraffes is now controlled to avoid utilisation that is incompatible with their survival.
Last month alone an estimated 3,000kg of suspected bush meat was impounded following a raid at six stalls in Nairobi.
Bushmeat trade is illegal and anyone arrested faces a jail term of not less than three years without the option of a fine.
Most of the illegal meat impounded during the raid ranged from Sh230 to Sh250 per kilo, below the market rate of Sh400 per kilo, Kenya Wildlife Service said.
"The meat is also deboned to disguise the source. The main market seems to be wholesale buyers known to the suppliers. The meat is suspected to have been from the illegal killing of zebras, giraffes and buffalos."
Nine species of giraffe are found in Africa, three of them in Kenya.
These are the reticulated giraffe also known as the Somali giraffe, Rothschild’s giraffe and the Masai giraffe.
Giraffe specimens are traded internationally, although the country of origin, the subspecies, and whether the specimens were legally acquired, are unknown.
In August, Kenya together with Chad and other countries fought in Geneva to have CITES include the giraffe species in Appendix II.
The Kenyan delegation to the CITES was led by Tourism CAS Joseph Boinnet.
Appendix II includes species not necessarily threatened with extinction, but in which trade must be controlled in order to avoid utilization incompatible with their survival.
Appendix I, on the other hand, includes species threatened with extinction. Trade in specimens of these species is permitted only in exceptional circumstances.
Presently, CITES accords protection to more than 35,000 species of animals and plants.
