World Wildlife Day 2026

World Wildlife Day is observed on 3 March to celebrate wild animals and plants and promote their conservation. Declared by the United Nations in 2013, the date marks the 1973 adoption of CITES, the international wildlife trade convention.

World Wildlife Day is observed on 3 March to celebrate wild animals and plants and to draw attention to the threats facing them. The UN General Assembly proclaimed the day in 2013, choosing 3 March because the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was adopted on that date in 1973. CITES was created to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. World Wildlife Day has since grown into a broader discussion of biodiversity, habitats, illegal wildlife trade, conservation science and the relationship between healthy ecosystems and human wellbeing. Annual themes highlight particular species, ecosystems or conservation challenges. Governments, conservation organisations, schools, museums and communities mark the day through educational programmes, field activities and public campaigns. The observance celebrates the beauty and value of wildlife while stressing that protecting species also requires protecting the habitats and ecological relationships on which they depend.

Connects wildlife survival to healthy habitats, biodiversity and human wellbeing; highlights threats from habitat destruction, overexploitation and illegal wildlife trade.

A secular conservation day: nature education, citizen-science events, habitat restoration with expert guidance, ethical wildlife observation and anti-trafficking awareness; avoid disturbing animals or buying wildlife products.

Worldwide on 3 March. The UN and CITES Secretariat support observances; local priorities differ, from forests and wetlands to marine species and threatened plants. Annual themes should be verified separately.