§ Mr. MorleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 20 February,Official Report, columns 89–90, how many birds listed as (a) threatened and (b) subject to limited trade he estimates were imported illegally into Britain in each year since 1987.
§ Mr. Heathcoat-AmoryI have been asked to reply.
There is no reliable method of estimating the numbers of birds imported illegally if the figures are required to 696W include birds which were smuggled in successful evasion of import controls. However, the numbers of CITES-listed birds detected by customs as being in breach of CITES controls and therefore seized as illegal are given in the table. As my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for the Environment explained on 20 February, Official Report, columns 89–90, CITES appendix I equates with "threatened" and appendices II and III with "subject to limited trade":
Year Appendix I Appendices II-III 19891 Nil 24 1990 4 72 1991 11 32 1992 3 102 1993 Nil 228 1994 1 45 1 Data for earlier years are not available.