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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of ending Official Development Assistance under the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund for projects located in China and redirecting funding to lower-income countries with greater development needs.

The Government engages with a range of international partners, including China, to support action against the illegal wildlife trade and the implementation of international commitments under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). This includes, where appropriate, through programmes funded by Official Development Assistance, such as the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund.

Defra has not made separate assessments of the matters raised.