Domestic Ivory Market

Paul Monaghan Excerpts

Monday 6th February 2017 Westminster Hall

[Victoria Borwick]

First, as we all know, the Christie’s stuff is publicly known—Christie’s admits to making a mistake and paid up; that is a matter of public record. As has been said before with regard to the tusks, as we all know, they were in transit and that is what we have got to stop. Every Member in this Chamber, and I am sure that all those watching, would absolutely concur with the hon. Gentleman: we have got to stop the trade and the transit of tusks. There is no disagreement between us on that.

[Dr Paul Monaghan (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (SNP)]

If the hon. Lady is so enthusiastic about placing a value on everything, can she tell us the value of an elephant?

[Victoria Borwick]

Absolutely immeasurable—nobody is disputing that. However, the argument that I am making is that we cannot compare a wonderful live elephant, where the value of the tusk is to the elephant, with something that comes from several thousands of years ago. I think the hon. Gentleman is trying to compare apples with pears, and that is the point I am trying to make to him. He does not have to agree with me, but that is the point I am making: that the value of an elephant tusk is to an elephant. What I am talking about are objects that have been around for thousands of years and are now in our museums.

--- Later in debate ---

[Dr Paul Monaghan (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (SNP)]

I am grateful for this opportunity to debate the crucial issue of protecting our planet’s wildlife. As we have heard, the magnificent African elephant is at grave and immediate risk from slaughter by poachers for its ivory tusks.

I suspect that many people watching this debate at home, including my constituents, will be wondering why we are debating the plight of elephants again today. Indeed, the many people who signed the petition are, I suspect, bemused that Parliament is again debating a subject that all right-minded people consider incontestable. Many agree that it is incontestable because they are familiar with the plight of the African elephant: they have seen how they are ruthlessly killed and slaughtered; how poachers use axes and even chainsaws to hack into the elephants’ faces to access their tusks; and how all of that is done in front of their young, without a second thought as to the horrific impact on their psychology.

We know that elephants are intelligent, social animals with complex social structures, subtle systems of learning and sophisticated communication, but we are only beginning to recognise the true impact of this slaughter and how it is endangering the species and the ecosystem within which these animals live. Sadly, we are having this debate because the UK Government are contributing to the conditions that encourage the slaughter of these animals and have failed to deliver the promises made in the Conservative party election manifestos of both 2010 and 2015, for which many people voted.

In September 2015, the then US President Obama and China’s President Jinping together pledged to enact near-complete bans on the import and export of ivory. They are to be commended for their pledge, which they upheld. In June 2016 the US Government introduced new regulations to ban the trade in ivory, and at the end of 2016, China announced that it too would introduce a ban on all ivory trade and processing activities by the end of 2017. India, Hong Kong and France, along with almost all African countries, have also introduced bans on ivory trading. In contrast with the United States, China, Hong Kong, India, France and many African nations, the UK Government have failed to act. As my hon. Friend the Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Patricia Gibson) noted, that is regrettable.

Despite the Conservative party manifesto of 2010 noting,

“To give wildlife greater protection, we will… press for a total ban on ivory sales and the destruction of existing stockpiles”

and the 2015 manifesto then explaining, under the heading “We will tackle international wildlife trade”,

“We will…press for a total ban on ivory sales, and support the Indian Government in its efforts to protect the Asian elephant”

the UK Government have done almost nothing. It is largely because the UK Government failed to deliver on their manifesto commitments that e-petition 165905 was signed by more than 107,000 right-minded members of the public. Many will be watching this debate today, and I congratulate and thank each of them for creating this opportunity. In fact, 85% of the public think that buying and selling ivory in the UK should be banned outright.

The e-petition rightly notes that 30,000 African elephants are slaughtered every year just for their tusks. Despite the promises that have been made, the UK Government have still not outlawed the trade. From 2009 to 2014, 40% of UK customs seizures were ivory items, and yet that evidence of an horrific trade has not been sufficient for the UK Government to implement promised action to ban the trade in ivory and fully commit to outlawing the markets that fuel the wasteful slaughter of elephants. As my hon. Friend the Member for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow (Dr Cameron) noted, there are only around 450,000 African elephants left in the world. In another six years, there will be half that number. I wonder how far numbers have to fall before the UK Government finally start taking the action promised more than seven years ago to outlaw a trade that is placing elephants at risk of extinction.

The UK has a thriving, growing domestic ivory market. Ivory is widely available for sale, subject only to some licensing restrictions on post-1947 ivory. Independent reports have found that the UK market plays a critical role in encouraging illegal wildlife trade, provides a hiding place for the trade in illegal products manufactured from post-1947 ivory and is seriously undermining international efforts to close down a hideously destructive trade. The UK Government’s failure to act is simply inexcusable.

The UK Government’s inaction is all the more shaming because while other countries are implementing bans, the UK Government announced plans as recently as 21 September 2016 to permit trade in ornaments and works of art dating to before 1947 by classifying the ivory as antique. More welcome was the announced intention to ban the sale of worked ivory produced after 1947, but disappointingly that remains just an intention. DEFRA, we understand, now plans to consult with environmental groups, industry—whatever that might be—and other relevant parties to establish how and when such a ban could be introduced and necessary exemptions early in 2017. When exactly will that happen, Minister? Sadly, despite the manifesto commitments of 2010 and 2015, that consultation has not happened and the UK Government are procrastinating.

An immediate and total ban is desperately required. We must be absolutely clear that the UK market in ivory is connected to the illegal market in post-1947 or modern ivory. The UK Government should be leading action to completely close down the domestic market with immediate effect for both pre and post-1947 ivory. The UK Government’s current proposal to ban sales of post-1947 ivory does not go far enough. Focusing on so-called modern ivory will not significantly reduce the amount of ivory bought and sold in the UK and will do little to stop the illegal wildlife trade across the world. It will, in fact, continue to encourage the slaughter of African elephants and to offer a hiding place for trade in products manufactured from ivory taken from slaughtered animals.

The UK Government’s failure to act is damaging international momentum and undermining the actions taken by other countries. We need effective action on a range of fronts, just as my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow North (Patrick Grady) explained. The people who signed this e-petition want the UK Government to stop procrastinating and begin acting. The people want the UK Government to join the global effort under way to end the ivory trade and to close down the UK’s ivory market. Our constituents are not interested in excuses, in another round of consultations or in spin. They are interested in protecting one of our planet’s most extraordinary animals. They want to know that the Government will honour their manifesto promises and start to protect these priceless animals. I urge the Minister: for goodness’ sake, get on with the task.