§ John BarrettTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with other members of the European Union regarding the ivory trade in advance of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in March. [152986]
§ Mr. MorleyThis issue has been discussed on several occasions in the EC CITES Committee (the Committee on Trade in Wild Fauna and Flora), most recently on 29 January 2004. The UK Government is strongly opposed to the illegal and unsustainable trade in elephant ivory and this is reflected in the European Union stance on this issue. EU Member States will insist at the CITES Standing Committee in Geneva in March 2004, that all the very strict conditions governing the one-off sale of ivory by Botswana, Namibia and South Africa are met in full before any trade is allowed to go ahead.
§ John BarrettTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she will take at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species to prevent an expansion in the ivory trade; and if she will make a statement. [152987]
§ Mr. MorleyWe do not yet know what proposals on elephant ivory, if any, will be made at the Conference of Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Bangkok in October. However, we are concerned that the market for ivory may be poorly regulated in a number of countries around the world, thereby allowing the illegal trade to continue. We will, therefore, work with our partners within the EU and other CITES Parties to ensure that there is no relaxation of the current ban on commercial trade in ivory, unless it can be shown that very strict measures are in place to ensure that such trade would not be detrimental to the conservation of this species in the wild.
§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 29 January 2004,Official Report, column 496W, on ivory, what assessment she has made of the reasons for the increase in ivory imports in 2003. [153333]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 6 February 2004]: Defra has not made a formal assessment. It is clear, however, that very little ivory has been imported to the UK in recent years. There was an increase in 2003, but as far as we can establish, this was largely as a result of shipments from other EU member states which are allowed to move freely within the Community.
§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many Article 10 certificates her Department(a) granted and (b) refused for (i) ivory and (ii) items containing ivory in each year since 1997. [154810]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 12 February 2004]: Our records do not distinguish between sales of items of elephant ivory or items containing ivory, although both are included in the figures in the table. The number of certificates issued or refused were as follows: 144W
|Asian ( Elephas maximus) African( Loxodonta africana) 1997 Total certificates issued 8 81 Quantity of items sold 24 157 Number refused 0 0 1998 Total certificates issued 6 76 Quantity of items sold 6 1,172 Number refused 0 0 1999 Total certificates issued 0 19 Quantity of items sold 0 78 Number refused 0 3 2000 Total certificates issued 0 63 Quantity of items sold 0 443 Number refused 0 2 2001 Total certificates issued 2 32 Quantity of items sold 2 33 Number refused 0 14 2002 Total certificates issued 13 44 Quantity of items sold 13 50 Number refused 0 0 2003 Total certificates issued 0 38 Quantity of items sold 0 45 Number refused 0 1