Tourism: Elephants

(asked on 2nd November 2015) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure that UK citizens travelling to India, Thailand and other elephant-range states are made aware of the illegal practice of capturing and breaking the spirit of baby elephants for use in the tourist industry.


Answered by
Lord Swire Portrait
Lord Swire
This question was answered on 10th November 2015

The United Kingdom is committed to conserving Asian elephants and recognises the growing threats to their populations, particularly from poaching and cross-border, illegal trade in live animals to feed the demand by the tourist and entertainment industries. We have been working internationally through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in discussion with elephant range states, such as India and Thailand, to increase protection for Asian elephants. In 2014, we secured agreement in 2014 for elephant range states to put in place measures to prevent illegal trade in live elephants.

Although it is not for the Government to make British citizens aware of this practice, we will continue to work together with the Indian authorities, as well as non-governmental organisations, on protecting elephants.

Reticulating Splines