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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural affairs, what steps he is taking to help end the trade in ivory overseas; and if he will make a statement.

The UK Government recently brought global leaders together in London for the fourth international illegal wildlife trade (IWT) conference. It was attended by 1,300 representatives from 73 countries and over 400 charities, conservation groups and businesses. Sixty-four countries and the UK adopted the London 2018 declaration: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/declaration-london-conference-on-the-illegal-wildlife-trade-2018. This declaration includes commitments to tackle the illegal trade in ivory and to close ivory markets.

We established the international Ivory Alliance 2024, which was launched at the London IWT conference and is chaired by Defra’s Secretary of State; this brings together global leaders, conservationists and public figures to close ivory markets and improve enforcement. It aims to reduce the poaching of elephants for their ivory by one third by 2020 and by two thirds by 2024, through tackling ivory demand and lobbying for domestic market closure, stronger enforcement of bans or other ivory legislation in key demand and transit markets.

Through our Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund, the UK has to date provided £18.5 million to support 61 projects to combat IWT, addressing many different ways of tackling IWT such as demand reduction, strengthening enforcement and providing alternative livelihoods. This includes projects that tackle the poaching of elephants and trade in ivory. The UK Government remains committed to stopping the abhorrent illegal wildlife trade.