§ Mr. YeoTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the forms that her Department requires private sector businesses to complete and return. [98085]
§ Mr. MorleyThe statistical survey forms required to be completed by private businesses are shown below together with frequency and the number of forms received during 2001.
local authorities. We are aware of three convictions for offences relating to the illegal importation of bushmeat, all in 2001.
§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Government is taking to increase vigilance at airports to discourage the importation of illegal bushmeat from Africa [100397]
§ Mr. MorleyBushmeat refers to the meat of any wild animal hunted for food. It is not necessarily from endangered species. Bushmeat forms only a very small proportion of reported seizures of illegal meat. Controls on its import arise from both the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), and from controls imposed to protect animal health. Action against illegal imports is not limited to bushmeat, nor is it targeted solely at Africa.
In the current financial year, additional measures have been introduced at airports to tackle illegal imports. Temporary agency staff, funded by Defra, have been recruited to carry out checks to detect smuggled goods—teams of six are based at our major airports. We 1291W are also paying for additional checks through overtime at regional airports, and Customs has provided support. Additional inspection resources have also been provided through the detector dog pilot based at Heathrow. A publicity campaign including videos, posters and leaflets has targeted ports, airports and points of departure.
A total of £25 million has been allocated over the next three financial years to tackle illegal imports from outside the European Union of any meat, other animal products and plant products. Following the Cabinet Office review of enforcement structures, HM Customs will be taking over all anti-smuggling activity as soon as practicable.
§ Mr. GardinerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with the President and Secretariat of the CITES Bushmeat Working Group to support its future work. [101327]
§ Mr. MorleyThis Department and its representatives have had informal discussions from time to time with the President and members of the CITES Bushmeat Working Group about the general direction being taken by the Group and about progress being made. However, we have always strongly maintained that the Group should remain first and foremost a Central and West African initiative. We have therefore deliberately sought not to initiate or participate too deeply in formal discussions. Our input to the direction taken by the Group and the development of its strategies and solutions is therefore taken forward mainly in the context of our participation in meetings of the Group, such as that taking place in Douala from 26 to 28 March 2003.
§ Mr. GardinerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what financial support her Department intends to provide the CITES Bushmeat Working Group in future years. [101330]
§ Mr. MorleyFollowing the agreement reached at the last Conference of CITES Parties (Santiago, 2002) to extend the work of the CITES Bushmeat Working Group, we have recently contributed a further £15,000 to the Group to help it carry forward its work to the next CITES Conference in 2004. This brings our total support for the CITES Bushmeat Working Group since its inception in April 2000 to £70,000.
§ Mr. GardinerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what analysis her Department has made of the progress the CITES Bushmeat Working Group has made in tackling the unsustainable bushmeat crisis. [101354]
§ Mr. MorleyWe have analysed reports produced both by the CITES Bushmeat Working Group itself and by those attending meetings of the Working Group on behalf of this Department. From these we believe that, after a slow start, the Group is now making good progress towards its aim of establishing strategies to overcome the problem of unsustainable trade in bushmeat in Central and West Africa.
The Group is highly committed and dedicated and has produced some useful work. In particular, it has completed an important study of laws and policies 1292W across the sub-region in support of its specific objective to develop strategies for the sustainable use of bushmeat within a lawful legislative context. We believe this study will provide a valuable resource for all the countries of the region in their efforts to harmonise and strengthen controls.
§ Mr. GardinerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which members of her Department will be attending the forthcoming CITES Bushmeat Working Group in Cameroon. [101328]
§ Mr. MorleyThis Department will be represented at the next CITES Bushmeat Working Group meeting (in Douala, Cameroon, from 26 to 28 March) by Dr. David Brown of the Overseas Development Institute's Forest Policy and Environment Group.
Dr. Brown co-authored the UK Government's 11 CITES Conference discussion paper "Bushmeat as a Trade and Wildlife Management Issue" (April 2000), which included the recommendation to establish a CITES Bushmeat Working Group. Dr. Brown also represented the Department at the Working Group's last meeting (in September 2002).