IABES Ethical Guidelines
Members of IABES will commit to common rules and practices to improve and strengthen the wellness of industry participants and the welfare of the livestock and environments in which they live.
IABES mission is to protect wild butterflies and their habitats by promoting sustainable butterfly exhibits and their suppliers; and supporting conservation, research, and public education.
Members pledge to follow its Ethics Guidelines, as stated below:
1. All IABES members pledge to use their exhibits to educate the public about butterflies and other insects and the importance of conserving them and their natural habitats.
2. IABES members assure that farming of butterflies used in exhibits shall not endanger any species and that all species displayed were acquired in complete adherence to the domestic and international laws regulating wildlife trade.
3. IABES members, whether butterfly farmers, suppliers, or exhibitors, do not introduce exotic species or potential pests, and take precautions accordingly.
4. IABES members ensure that their stock (whether caterpillars, pupae, or adult butterflies) is housed and cared for in a humane manner according to the latest scientific understanding of animal welfare, with adequate food and space, under appropriate temperatures and humidity conditions, and hygiene.
5. IABES members guarantee that all their stock comes from traceable vendors and via legal transport channels and are willing and able to disclose the source of their butterflies or other insects.
6. IABES members comply with all local and international rules and regulations regarding the breeding, transport, trade, and display of butterflies.
7. IABES members must comply with all pertinent labor laws. Child labor is explicitly forbidden unless it happens within the family nucleus and does not interfere with schooling.
8. Fair trade practices across the entire network of breeders, suppliers and exhibitors will be promoted.
Ethical Guidelines Amendment Adopted December 2024
1. Wild Lepidopteran species are harvested around the world for a variety of reasons including but not limited to food, medicine, pest control, ornamentation, income, recreation, and cultural and spiritual purposes. While this use of wild species directly contributes to the well-being of billions of people globally, over-exploitation of wild species is one of the key drivers of biodiversity loss. It is therefore critical to ensure that use of wild species is sustainable – both to reverse the global trend in biodiversity decline and to also to ensure that wild species continue to provide the benefits on which so many people depend.
2. Harvesting is best described as the process of collecting, cutting, taking, or killing of wild species or their parts and/or derivatives.
3. Threatened species are those that fall into the categories; Vulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species TM.
4. Threatened species may be affected directly or indirectly by harvesting. The full scale and impacts of harvest on threatened species are impossible to assess because use of wild species can be unregulated, unmonitored and/or illegal – and therefore undocumented or unknown. Furthermore, many species which are harvested have not yet had their conservation statusassessed but may well be threatened. Nonetheless, some threatened species, even those in the highest category of threat, have been shown to be capable of supporting a carefully regulated sustainable harvest that both benefits conservation of the species and provides financial or other incentives for local communities and for conservation management
5. The International Association of Butterfly Exhibitors and Suppliers does not support the harvesting of threatened species in the wild for the use in Butterfly Exhibitions, with the only exception in the case that the harvesting is within the framework of a defined direct conservation need and mandate, based on the application of the ‘IUCN SSC Guidelines on the Use of Ex situ Management for Species Conservation”.
Adapted from the IUCN protocol for collection of endangered species. 2025
Adherence to these standards will ensure credibility with the public and regulatory agencies, reinforce animal and worker safety, guarantee product quality, and strengthen the health of member institutions and the industry.
IABES does not define specific Standard Operating Procedures, construction standards, or protocols which are left to local government entities. IABES does not have legal regulatory authority, and adherence to these guidelines is enforced strictly through self-regulation of individual members and the oversight inherent in the business relationships between suppliers and exhibitors.
Institutions that are unable to comply with or are violating these principles may not become members of IABES, nor will be permitted to sponsor or participate in any events hosted by the Association.
February 2026
