Anti-Corruption Strategy: Illegal Wildlife Trade

Debate between Rupa Huq and Stephen Kerr

Wednesday 28th February 2018 Westminster Hall

[Stephen Kerr (Stirling) (Con)]

May I help the hon. Lady with that list? Some very valuable bagpipes have ivory mountings on them. In fact, as a piper, I possess such an instrument. It is beautiful, but regrettably ivory is involved.

[Dr Huq]

The hon. Gentleman’s skills never fail to impress me—they are increasing by the minute. Perhaps he can play the bagpipes for us at a function at some point—he could do it at the unveiling of the total ivory ban and the delivery of these promises well before 25 years’ time. Yes, bagpipes use ivory. Other songs have occurred to me: “Karma Chameleon”, which is from a similar era—I think that there is about a year or two between the two songs—and “I Am the Walrus”, which is a perennial favourite of many. I accept the musical exemption.

I accept the exemption for anything that is under 5% ivory or 200 grams because those are such tiny amounts, and the exemption for museums. Slightly more troubling is the ill-defined, woolly term “culturally artistic and historic” pieces. That could open up a legal loophole for carved, solid, luxury ivory items such as Japanese fans or cigar boxes. We need to ensure that they are not covered. What is the exact test of “culturally artistic and historic”? The Lewis chess set of 1100 AD is often mentioned, although it is actually walrus ivory, not elephant ivory. It is often said that is the kind of thing the term will cover, but what about injecting certainty with the proviso that, if it can be sold to a museum, it is allowable? It may not necessarily be in a museum, but if it is a museum-able piece, we can allow it. If it is a cigar box, it will not be covered—no thanks.

Another area where we could go further regarding the illegal wildlife trade is the lack of funding for mapping trade routes used by criminal gangs to transport animal products and carcases across continents. A glance at the UK aid development tracker shows that various Departments and agencies are involved in combating the trade: the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for International Development and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. On top of that we have the new Joint Anti-Corruption Unit that will operate out of the Home Office. Surely they should take a joined-up look at mapping trade routes.

I have a couple more questions, and then I will end. Will the Minister confirm what “stringent tests” have been met by the lion countries? That was in a 2015 written answer from the then Minister responsible, the hon. Member for Penrith and The Border (Rory Stewart). There is a worry that things might fall through the cracks if they are not well defined. Could the UK Government send a strong message by enacting the total ban on the import of lion trophies? The numbers are not large, so hopefully this is not on an industrial scale, but the Government could seize the initiative and show leadership.

I have a couple more questions. Given that the academic literature identifies mapping transnational crimes, why does the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund fund only one proposal that maps transnational networks? That relates to my earlier question. I have already raised another obvious question: when will the Government ensure that public registers of beneficial interests are in place for the overseas territories, so that they can better fight this type of crime?

The recent international aid scandal in the charities sector has shown that some more extreme Conservative Members will argue against any international aid. I hope the Minister will restate that the 0.7% aid target is Government policy, and that it will not be watered down.

When we leave the EU, we will no longer be bound by its scientific review group, with its high standards on the exports of live animals and high-value body parts. There is a worry that, if we crash out, we will be beholden only to the convention on international trade in endangered species. It is a global standard, but is not as stringent as the EU one. Does the Minister know what our status will be in relation to the EU scientific review group? She is a scientist herself. If it is unclear and subject to negotiation, can we add it to the list of things, such as Euratom and Erasmus+, that we are fighting to keep beyond the transition period? Otherwise, there might be a WTO-type situation where we crash to the lowest-common denominator, or the situation that we heard about over the summer where, if we do not have sufficient protections in place, chlorinated chickens could be on the menu. Can we aspire to remain in, have a close relationship with or mirror that body?

The same applies to shared intelligence and joint operations to catch perpetrators, which would be a worry if we leave Europol. The fingerprinting kit that IFAW pioneered works for 28 days after the prints are planted on the ivory. We need to catch the cross-border shifting of ill-gotten gains over time.

As a sociologist, I am all too aware that globalisation has made the world smaller. It helps us to keep in touch across the globe through social networks and environmental trade but, sadly, that can spill over into organised crime and illegal trade in exotic species. Criminal and terrorist syndicates that buy with impunity and bribe corrupt officials on their way are the stuff of “McMafia”, but they are widening their revenue streams and decimating animal populations.

Corruption is at the heart of the illegal wildlife trade, which Prince William, no less, condemned at the 2016 Hanoi conference on illegal wildlife trade. Whenever I ask parliamentary questions on this, the response is “in due course”. That is unsatisfactory and not good enough anymore. The Government have gone some way with their strategy, but they must act now.

--- Later in debate ---

[Dr Huq]

Is the ivory in the bagpipes a small percentage, and are they historical? It has just occurred to me that if they can be manufactured without ivory now, and they are a 99%-ivory product, I do not agree. I did not make that clear.

[Stephen Kerr]

I will gratefully clarify that ivory is not now used in bagpipes. These are very old sets of bagpipes. I have a set that my father bought for me when I was 12. He paid an incredibly small amount of money for them, and they are now worth a lot more.