§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what action he intends to take to ensure that the ban on the international trade in whale products is not lifted at the next meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in Nairobi in April 2000; and if he will make a statement. [96335]
§ Mr. MullinThe Government have been consulted recently on two draft downlisting proposals under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), from Norway and Japan, relating respectively to the Northeast Atlantic and North Atlantic Central Stocks, and to the Southern Hemisphere Stocks of Minke Whale(Balaenoptera acutorostrata). We have replied to both countries making clear our objections and underscoring our opposition to any CITES downlisting proposals which might undermine the moratorium on commercial whaling under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling.