§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he is taking on the report submitted to his Department by Greenpeace and Charles Arden Clarke on the premature death of dolphins imported into the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. WaldegraveThe Greenpeace report by Charles Arden Clarke makes the point that no firm conclusions can be drawn from the available data but it does recommend that records of all United Kingdom dolphinaria should be made available for collection and analysis. The Government have no powers to require dolphinaria to submit their records for study but annual reports on the implementation in the United Kingdom of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) published by my Department contain information on the number of dolphins imported, and the purpose for which they were imported. We have already strengthened our arrangements for considering applications to import live cetacea and for inspecting premises for their accommodation.