A small number of intergovernmental treaties exist which are concerned with the conservation of wildlife and wildlife habitats on a global scale. However, only the OIE standards are concerned purely with animal welfare.

OIE - World Organization for Animal Health
CITES/Washington Convention
Ramsar
World Heritage Convention
Bonn Convention
IATA (International Air Transport Association) 
IWC (The International Whaling Commission) 

OIE - World Organization for Animal Health

The OIE, which has 167 member countries, has agreed international standards on the transport and slaughter of live animals. These include:

• Sea transport
• Land transport
• Slaughter for human consumption
• Slaughter for disease control

OIE Home Page
OIE Animal Welfare Standards

CITES/Washington Convention

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, entered into force on 1 July 1975 and now has a membership of 167 countries.

CITES Home Page
WWF Information on CITES

Ramsar

The Convention on Wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, is an intergovernmental treaty which provides the framework for national action and international co-operation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. There are presently 112 Contracting Parties to the Convention.

Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

World Heritage Convention

Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, 1972. Protecting natural and cultural properties of outstanding universal value against the threat of damage in a rapidly developing world

UNESCO Information on the World Heritage Convention

Bonn Convention

The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals 1979 (also known as CMS or the Bonn Convention) aims to conserve terrestrial, marine and avian migratory species throughout their range. Since the Convention's entry into force on 1 November 1983, its membership has grown steadily to include 51 Parties

The Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) Website, which includes information on the Bonn Convention

IATA (International Air Transport Association)

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is an association of airlines founded in 1945 by airline operators seeking to promote "safe, regular, and economical air transport." IATA publishes Live Animal Regulations (in English, French, Spanish and Chinese). These regulations are the industry's minimum standards for the international transport of animals.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species - CITES - now recommend that its parties adopt the Live Animal Regulations as their official guidelines for the transportation of endangered species.

IATA has its European office in Geneva and its head office in Montreal. Copies of the Regulations can be obtained direct from IATA at:
200 Peel Street
Montreal, Quebec
Canada H3A 2RA

The IATA Website

IWC (The International Whaling Commission)

The International Whaling Commission (IWC) is the international body responsible for the regulation of whaling. The IWC was set up under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, which was signed in Washington DC on 2 December 1946. The purpose of the Convention was to provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and thus make possible the orderly development of the whaling industry. But the IWC's attitude toward whaling has changed over the years - towards protection of whales, rather than exploitation.

The Home Page of the IWC
Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society