CEC Receives Submission on the Operation to Capture an Animal That Escaped from Captivity in Tepetlaoxtoc, State of Mexico, Mexico
Tiohtià:ke (Montreal), 10 July 2026—On 6 July 2026, a Mexican citizen filed a submission with the Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) under Chapter 24 of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA/CUSMA). This submission, the eighth of 2026, marks the highest number of submissions received in a single calendar year since the inception of the SEM process in 1994.
In submission SEM-26-008 (Captive Animal Control Incident), the Submitter asserts that Mexico is failing to effectively enforce its environmental laws with respect to the oversight and inspection of a Wildlife Management Premises and Facility (Predio e Instalación que Maneja Vida Silvestre—PIMVS), as well as compliance with technical protocols and risk management during the operation to capture a Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) after it escaped from a wildlife management facility located in Tepetlaoxtoc, State of Mexico.
According to the submission, the capture operation—during which the Bengal tiger died—and the circumstances surrounding the incident allegedly demonstrate a lack of adequate protocols for the management of wildlife held in custody and of preventive measures, particularly on the part of the PIMVS. The Submitter also points to irregularities that were not detected in a timely manner by the authorities and to the lack of inspections and oversight of the PIMVS in question.
The Submitter bases their assertions on the General Act on Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection (Ley General del Equilibrio Ecológico y la Protección al Ambiente), the General Wildlife Act (Ley General de Vida Silvestre), the Regulations to the General Wildlife Act (Reglamento de la Ley General de Vida Silvestre), as well as the “federal provisions applicable to the management, inspection, and oversight of Wildlife Management Premises and Facilities.”
The Secretariat will review the submission and determine, within 30 days, whether it meets the requirements of USMCA/CUSMA Article 24.27(1), (2) and (3).
To learn more about the SEM process and for more detailed information on this matter, please consult the registry page for submission SEM-26-008 (Captive Animal Control Incident) in the public registry of submissions on the CEC website.