Red List Petitions
All assessments published on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ are open to challenge. Petitions may be made against current listings of taxa (species, subspecies, varieties or subpopulations), however petitions against historical listings (i.e., those that have since been updated with a new listing for the taxon in question) are not considered.
A petition may only be made on the basis of the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria (version 3.1) and in reference to any supporting documentation accompanying the listing. It is not possible to change listings for political, emotional, economic, or other reasons not based on the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria.
Before entering into a formal petition, every effort should be made to reach agreement within the standard red-listing process, through discussions between the petitioner and the Red List Authority (RLA) responsible for the assessment. A formal petition will only be considered if the two groups cannot reach an agreement.
Full details on the process for submitting a petition are provided in the Procedure for Handling of Petitions against Current Listings on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™.
Current petitions against assessments published on the IUCN Red List
The table below summarises all formal petitions currently underway.
Taxon: petitioned listing |
Date petition filed |
Current petitions process stage |
|---|---|---|
|
Long-tailed Macaque (Macaca fascicularis), 2022: Endangered (EN) |
11 September 2023 |
Although there appears to be adequate evidence to support the current EN listing, the lack of a clear organization of the available information and the value-laden language undermine the 2022 assessment. The Standards & Petitions Committee (SPC) therefore requests that a reassessment be submitted by the RLA within 8 months. Failure to submit a reassessment, or if the submitted reassessment does not pass the SPC's review, will result in the current assessment being retracted and the species will revert to the previous assessment or will become Data Deficient. Meanwhile, the current assessment will remain, flagged as 'under petition'. |
Past petitions against assessments published on the IUCN Red List
The table below summarises past petitions. For each petition, hyperlinks are provided to 1) the original listing (either directly to the assessment on the Red List website or to the publication containing the original listing); 2) the updated assessment resulting from the petition (if available); and 3) the full ruling for the petition.
Taxon: petitioned listing |
Date petition filed |
Date of ruling |
Ruling |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Long-tailed Macaque (Macaca fascicularis), 2022: Endangered (EN) |
11 September 2023 | 24 June 2024 |
See above. |
|
Migratory Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus ssp. plexippus), 2022: Endangered (EN) |
19 January 2023 | 27 September 2023 |
The Standards & Petitions Committee (SPC) reviewed the available data for this taxon at the time of the assessment and investigated use of more complex models for the population trend over the past 10 years. Based on this, the SPC ruled that the Endangered assessment must change to Vulnerable (VU A2b). A corrected assessment, in which the status of this taxon will change to Vulnerable, will be published in the 2023-1 Red List on 7th December 2023. |
|
African Savanna Elephant (Loxodonta africana), 2021: Endangered (EN) |
22 November 2021 | 13 October 2022 |
The Endangered (EN) listing was maintained, but with a change in the criteria: "direct observation" (A2a) was removed. It was also noted that, given the uncertainties, a range of categories (VU–EN) is plausible. For future reassessments, the Assessors were encouraged to consider the use of criterion A4 and to undertake a Green Status assessment of the species. |
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Smooth Handfish (Sympterichthys unipennis), 2020: Extinct (EX). |
04 September 2020 |
09 September 2021 |
Insufficient information to support an EX listing or to decide on appropriate Red List Category; species moved to Data Deficient (DD) in the 2021-3 Red List (December 2021). |
|
Olive Ridley Turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea), 1996: Endangered (EN A1bd). In: Baillie and Groombridge (1996), revised from EN A1abd to EN A1bd through petition in 2001 (see below). |
06 May 2006 |
10 September 2007 |
At the request of IUCN, the IUCN SSC Marine Turtle RLA updated the 1996 assessment, applying version 3.1 of the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. The petition continued; revised Vulnerable (VU A2bd) listing accepted and published in the 2008 IUCN Red List (October 2008). Abreu-Grobois & Plotkin (2008) Full Ruling (and the reassessment this ruling refers to) |
|
Greenheart (Chlorocardium rodiei), 1998: Vulnerable (VU A1ad). |
01 December 2005 |
26 February 2007 |
Insufficient information to decide on appropriate Red List category; species moved to Data Deficient (DD) in the 2007 Red List (September 2007). |
|
Flatback Turtle (Natator depressus), 1996: Vulnerable (VU A2cde). |
20 May 2000
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18 October 2001
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These four species were considered together as the first formal petitions against listings on the IUCN Red List. The petitions resulted in the following decisions (currently, the revised assessments for Olive Ridley, Green and Hawksbill Turtles are not available; for details of these, see the Full Ruling):
Red List Standards & Petitions Subcommittee (1996)
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Olive Ridley Turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea), 1996: Endangered (EN A1abd). |
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Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas), 1996: Endangered (EN A1abd). |
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Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), 1996: Critically Endangered (CR A1abd+2bcd). |