§ 8. Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what quantity of items seized by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise belonging to endangered species of animals have been disposed of in the last 12 months.
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardDisposal by customs of items belonging to endangered species is normally done locally. Thus, central records are not compiled. However, I can tell the hon. Gentleman that in the year to 31 March 1991, 2,395 such items were seized and all will be, or have already been, disposed of.
§ Mr. BanksI thank the Minister for that reply and I am sure that the entire House would wish to congratulate Customs and Excise officers on their excellent work in trying to stamp out the vile trade in endangered species. However, many of them think that they are only scratching the surface of that trade and that more officers would enable better results to be achieved. Has the Minister considered that? Moreover, will she make it clear that, wherever possible, prosecutions will take place, because I understand that in 1990 there were no prosecutions of people caught bringing in endangered species.
The other question that I would like to ask—
§ Mr. SpeakerOne question. It is not fair on others.
§ Mrs. ShephardThe hon. Gentleman mentioned prosecutions. There were prosecutions in the year ended 1990 and I believe that the hon. Gentleman has had a written answer to that effect. There was only one prosecution in the year ended 31 March 1991, with the result that two people were gaoled, one for 30 months and the other for 15 months. Obviously, the seizure of the items and their confiscation is also a penalty. From the point of view of the court, the difficulty with the prosecutions is 432 that there has to be proof that the offence has been knowingly committed. That is always the problem; it is not confined to these cases.
On the number of customs officers concerned with such work, we are satisfied that they are doing an excellent job. One of the hon. Gentleman's colleagues recently wrote to congratulate us on the seizures of coral.
§ Dr. MarekMay I press the Minister a little further? The current Customs and Excise report says that 1,230 live animals and birds, 1,092 plants and 2,395 articles such as elephant tusks, stuffed animals and birds were seized. The Minister could do more by increasing substantially the publicity at United Kingdom ports which would help to secure more convictions. The report says that criminal proceedings were taken against only five people. That is not enough. I earnestly urge the Minister to do everything that she can to ensure that those who carry on this vile and obscene trade face the full rigours of the law when they are caught passing through ports in the United Kingdom.
§ Mrs. ShephardThe hon. Gentleman will have noticed that display cabinets have recently been erected in many of our ports to show the type of items that are not permitted. That is a useful initiative which will bring to the attention of the public in a visual and concrete form the endangered species and their parts and derivatives that are not allowed.