Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will hold discussions at an international level on urgent action to prevent the extinction of northern white rhinos.
In February 2014 the UK Government hosted a major conference of global leaders to help eradicate the illegal wildlife trade and better protect the world’s most iconic species, such as rhinos, from the threat of extinction.
Over 40 nations attended. The result was the London Conference Declaration, containing 25 commitments to action on enforcement and criminal justice, demand reduction and sustainable livelihoods. The UK is actively supporting Botswana in hosting a further Conference to review progress in March 2015.
The UK chairs the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Rhino Working Group. This brings together countries implicated in the illegal trade in rhino horn, whether as a range or a consumer state, to share information and to develop and implement demand reduction strategies to help protect the rhino. The Group met and reported during the 65th CITES Standing Committee meeting in July 2014 and will do so again at the 66th meeting in January 2016.