§ Norman BakerTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many articles were seized by HM Customs under the Convention for the International Trade in Endangered Species in each year since 1997–98. [178758]
§ John HealeyHM Customs and Excise reported in their Departmental Annual Reports for 1997–98 and 1998–99 details of Cites seizures for those years. Detailed information for the period April 1999 to December 2000 is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Customs' Spring Departmental Report 2004 (Cm 6224) contains details of the numbers of Cites seizures for the nine months from 1 April 2003 to 31 December 2003, and the tables show details of seizures for the calendar years 2001–03.
Seizures may be recorded by weight or number and seizures of items such as traditional Chinese medicines may be recorded either according to the individual count of capsules or according to the quantity of containers.
837W
2001 Number of seizures Number of items seized Weight of items seized (kg) Live animals and birds 49 5,196 Parts and derivatives of endangered species 204 15,908 19 711,071 Ivory 40 347 4 476,850 Plants 28 3,923 1 4,800 Other CITES listed species 45 1,489 20 29,376 Preparations of oriental medicines that include parts or derivatives of endangered species 50 37,205
2002 Number of seizures Number of items seized Weight of items seized (kg) Live animals and birds 114 8,685 Parts and derivatives of endangered species 238 9,672,827 4 227,600 Ivory 29 156 Plants 13 758 Other CITES listed species 51 6,664,307 30 107,675 Preparations of oriental medicines that include parts or derivatives of endangered species 60 5,597,596
2003 Number of seizures Number of items seized Weight of items seized (kg) Live animals and birds 99 2,925 Parts and derivatives of endangered species 144 2,143 Ivory 33 145 Plants 15 2,044 Other CITES listed species 53 18,972 29 73.5 Preparations of oriental medicines that include parts or derivatives of endangered species 20 5,042,728 18 469.3