§ Mr. MorleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) prosecutions were undertaken and (b) convictions gained in respect of (a) appendix 1, (b) appendix 2 and (c) appendix 3 of CITES in each year since 1990.
§ Mr. MacleanInformation held centrally by the Department shows two prosecutions and two convictions in 1990 under sections 3(1) and 3(8) of the Statutory Instrument, "Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulations". Information for 1991 to 1993—which is provisional—shows a nil return.
However, it should be noted that the statistics of court proceedings are based on returns made by the police to the Home Office and although these include offences where there has been no police involvement, such as those prosecutions instigated by Government Departments—in this case probably Custom and Excise—and private organisations and individuals, the reporting of these types of offence is known to be incomplete.
Proceedings instigated with reference to the Conference on International Trade in Endangered Species but dealt with under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and any other statute pertaining to endangered species cannot be separately identified.