§ Mr. Chris SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he intends to take to persuade the Governments of China and Taiwan to fulfil their obligations under CITES resolutions to enforce the ban on trade in rhinoceros horn.
§ Mr. AtkinsI have been asked to reply.
The United Kingdom together with our European partners, fully supports the decision of the CITES standing committee to send technical and high-level delegations to rhino horn-consuming countries to assess the effectiveness of their efforts to combat illegal trade in rhino horn and to offer advice and assistance. We have contributed £5,000 towards the costs of the high-level delegation which has recently visited China and Taiwan. The Government will be represented at the standing committee meeting next month which will consider what further action should be taken in the light of the delegations' reports. We shall also continue our bilateral contracts with the relevant authorities.
The United Kingdom Government have taken a leading role in encouraging greater efforts to conserve rhinos. On 3 February my Department announced a grant of £60,000 towards a project co-funded by the European Commission and the Worldwide Fund for Nature to appoint a scientific officer to co-ordinate rhino conservation activities throughout Africa.
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