Part II includes treaties which are concerned either with a single species or with groups of related species. In the former category, there are treaties governing the conservation and exploitation of northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus), polar bears (Ursus maritimus) and vicuna (Vicugna vicugna) – indeed three treaties dealing exclusively with the conservation and exploitation of vicuna have been signed in the last fifteen years. In the latter category, there are treaties covering whales, birds, Antarctic seals and North Atlantic seals.

There are two common factors applicable to most of the treaties in Part II. The first is that nearly all of them are concerned with economically valuable animals which have been subjected to significant exploitation by man. Whales, seals, polar bears, birds and vicuna have all been killed in large numbers at one time or another for their meat, oil, skins, feathers or cloth. Consequently, the primary objective of almost every treaty in Part II is either to provide strict protection for species which have been seriously depleted in the past or to regulate exploitation of species which could become depleted in the future unless controls are imposed. Most of these treaties therefore place their greatest emphasis on regulating exploitation. With a few exceptions, other threats such as habitat loss and pollution, which could prove just as damaging in the long term, either receive lesser attention or are not covered at all.