Angela Smith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Smith on 2014-03-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the outcome of the recent Illegal Wildlife Trade conference and the resulting London Declaration; and what steps she plans to take to ensure that animal welfare is a key element of her Department’s response to that declaration.

Norman Baker

The Home Office recognises that the illegal wildlife trade is not only a serious threat to our environment, but is also a transnational criminal industry worth billions of pounds every year, and one which drives corruption and insecurity and undermines efforts to cut poverty and develop sustainable economic opportunities.

I was therefore pleased that world leaders from over forty nations, including key states such as Botswana, Chad, China, Gabon, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Tanzania, and Vietnam, alongside the United States and Russia, gathered in London on 13 February 2014 and made a political commitment to take actions to eradicate the demand for illegal wildlife products, strengthen law enforcement, ensure effective legal frameworks, and to reduce the incentive for communities in source countries to get involved in the trade by supporting the development of alternative, sustainable livelihoods. I co-chaired part of the proceedings to underline the Home Office’s commitment to this issue.

The Home Office will continue to work with other departments to ensure that the Government delivers on the UK Commitment to Action on the Illegal Wildlife Trade.