§ Andrew GeorgeTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps418W her Department is taking to reduce the importation of wild caught (a) parrots and (b) other birds into the UK. [135811]
§ Mr. MorleyThe international trade in all parrots and many other species of wild birds is strictly regulated under Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97, which implements the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) within the EU. It is an offence to import CITES specimens without the appropriate documentation and trade is only permitted if we are satisfied that the specimens have been lawfully acquired and that the trade will not be detrimental to the wild populations of the species concerned.
§ Andrew GeorgeTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate her Department has made of the numbers of wild caught(a) parrots and (b) other birds brought into the UK broken down by each country from which these imports originated in each of the last five years for which records are available. [135812]
§ Mr. MorleyThe available information is set out in the attached tables: Table A for parrots, Table B for other birds.
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Table A Imports of parrots Country Year Number United Arab Emirates 2001 1 Angola 1999 1 Argentina 1998 120 1999 410 2000 441 2001 58 Australia 2002 3 Benin 1999 1 Democratic Republic of Congo 1999 1 2000 1 Congo 2002 1 Cote D'lvoire 2002 200 Cameroon 1998 410 1999 2,065 2000 700 2001 600 2002 2,200 Egypt 2000 1 Ghana 2000 1 Gambia 2001 1 Guinea 1998 2,274 2001 600 2002 534 Guyana 1998 1,192 1999 1,308 2000 1,115 2001 2,702 2002 2,655 Indonesia 1998 182 Kenya 1998 1 1999 1 2000 1 2001 1 Mali 1999 1 2001 200 2002 550 Mauritius 2000 1 Malaysia 1998 620 2002 228
Table A Imports of parrots Country Year Number Nigeria 1998 2 1999 1 2001 1 Nicaragua 2001 115 2002 854 New Zealand 1998 40 Panama 1998 1 Peru 2002 249 Paraguay 1998 2 2002 1,961 Senegal 2001 200 Surinam 2002 723 Total 25,531
Table B Imports of other birds Country Year Number Argentina 1998 2 Democratic Republic of Congo 2001 6 Congo 2000 8 2001 2 Cameroon 1998 11 2001 19 2002 33 Cape Verde Islands 2002 5 Ghana 2001 31 Guinea 1999 30 2000 8 2002 50 Guyana 1998 62 1999 51 2000 95 2001 100 2002 67 Iceland 1999 1 Indonesia 2000 1 Kazakhstan 1999 3 Nicaragua 2001 6 2002 21 Netherlands 2000 1 Norway 1998 12 Peru 1999 13 2000 56 2001 5 2002 12 Poland 2002 1 Paraguay 2002 387 Russian Federation 1998 10 1999 33 Surinam 2002 14 Tanzania 1998 16 1999 24 2000 6 2002 35 South Africa 1998 1 2000 2 Total 1,240
§ Andrew GeorgeTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of wild caught(a) parrots and (b) other birds imported into EU countries in each of the last five years. [135818]
§ Mr. MorleyOur CITES records show that the number of wild caught parrots imported into the UK in each of the last five years were as follows.
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Number 1998 4,844 1999 3,789 2000 2,261 2001 4,479 2002 10,158 Total 25,531 The numbers of other wild-caught birds imported into the UK were:
Number 1998 114 1999 155 2000 177 2001 169 2002 625 Total 1,240 The Department does not keep records of imports into other EU countries.
§ Andrew GeorgeTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the impact of Government support for the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species on the volume in trade of wild caught(a) parrots and (b) other birds imported into (i) Europe and (ii) the UK since the UK signed the Convention.[135820]
§ Mr. MorleyThe Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) aims to protect certain plants and animals by regulating and monitoring their international trade to prevent it reaching unsustainable levels. Currently CITES regulates international trade in over 30,000 species, of which approximately 25,000 are plants. The Convention came into force in 1975, and the UK became a party in 1976. Pre-Convention figures concerning the importation of parrots and other birds are not available.
No specific study has been made of the impact of the Convention on the trade in these species. However, all EU member states are required to provide annual reports on the trade in CITES species. These are closely monitored by the European Commission, and powers are available to enable member states to take urgent action in the event that a particular pattern of trade is judged to be unsustainable.