HC Deb 30 January 1992 vol 202 cc642-3W
Mr. Gale

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will commission and fund a study on a case-by-case basis into which bird species are likely to benefit from the wild-caught bird trade, as recommended on page 3 of the recent Joint Nature Conservancy Council report on international trade in wildlife.

Mr. Baldry

[holding answer 28 January 1992]The Government already support studies of the potential impact of wildlife trade throughout the world through its subscription to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The JNCC and the royal botanic gardens, Kew, also monitor the wildlife trade generally on our behalf. We will keep the need for further research under review.

Mr. Gale

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is taking to introduce registration and possession controls for all Convention on Trade in Endangered Species appendix 1 species held in the United Kingdom, as recommended on page 3 of the recent Joint Nature Conservancy Council report on international trade in wildlife.

Mr. Baldry

[holding answer 28 January 1992]I wrote to the European Commission in October urging it to propose stricter controls on the trade in appendix 1 species. The Commission reported in December that it planned to publish proposals shortly, and my hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment and Countryside pressed for early progress on these. We shall be giving urgent attention to the proposals when they are published.

Mr. Gale

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those birds species that(a) have benefited and (b) are likely to benefit from the international trade in wild-caught birds.

Mr. Baldry

[holding answer 28 January 1992]Comprehensive information on species which have benefited from trade is not readily available. Properly controlled trade can provide an incentive for the better management of many species. The same general principles can be applied to the bird trade as to trade in other species mentioned in the JNCC report.