Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what activities were undertaken by (a) Ministers and (b) staff of his Department to celebrate World Giraffe Day in (i) 2015, (ii) 2016 and (iii) 2017.

No specific activities were undertaken by Defra Ministers or staff to celebrate World Giraffe Day in 2015, 2016 or 2017. However, we are undertaking a number of activities to support this iconic species.

In 2010 Defra’s Darwin Initiative funded a project that focused on ecosystem-wide forest conservation in the Democratic Republic of Congo using okapi, also known as the forest giraffe, as a flagship species. This project lead to the establishment of the IUCN Species Survival Commission Giraffe and Okapi Specialist Group.

The giraffe is proposed for listing on Appendix II of the Convention on Migratory Species for consideration at the 12th Conference of the Parties in Manila between 23 and 28 October 2017. The UK government supports this listing, which would encourage range states to conclude global or regional agreements for the conservation and management of giraffes.