Asked by: Lord De Mauley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the area under certain environmental schemes on agricultural land under ELMs could count towards the Government’s objective of protecting 30 per cent of terrestrial land by 2020; and if so, under what circumstances.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
Our new environmental land management schemes will support the delivery of our ambitious national targets and commitments for the environment, including the Government's commitment to protect 30% of the UK's land by 2030. We are exploring the potential contribution that the three schemes could make to the achievement of this commitment. This contribution could include: management of farmland in an environmentally sustainable way; supporting local nature recovery and delivering local environmental priorities; management of designated sites; and encouraging collaboration between farmers, including through landscape-scale habitat creation and restoration, or securing long-term management and protection for wildlife-rich habitats.
Asked by: Lord De Mauley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect to publish the new Code of Practice for the keeping of equines.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
We are currently aiming to lay the updated statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Horses, Ponies, Donkeys and Their Hybrids before Parliament before the end of the year.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Equine Sector Council for their assistance and expertise in updating the code.
Asked by: Lord De Mauley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which the People's Republic of China has taken steps to ban completely the domestic trade in ivory.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
We were pleased to hear of China’s announcement to end its domestic commercial ivory trade in 2017.
We look forward to seeing further detail on China’s measures, including understanding the nature of provisions for auctioning certified ivory ‘relics’ and how China plans to implement the new measures.
We particularly commend the announcement of enhancements to enforcement and education, both of which are an important part of tackling the illegal trade in ivory and stopping poaching.