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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to help protect ivory-bearing species including (a) hippos, (b) rhinos and (c) elephants.

The Ivory Act 2018 will introduce one of the toughest bans on elephant ivory sales in the world by banning the dealing in items made of or containing elephant ivory, regardless of their age, unless they fall within one of the narrow and carefully defined exemptions.

On 3 February the Government reached a significant milestone in implementing the Ivory Act with the laying of the statutory instrument that sets out the provisions for the operation of exemptions under the Act. On 24 February we launched the digital ivory service through which people can register and certify exempted ivory items ahead of dealing in these items. We plan for the ban to come into force in spring 2022.

We published a consultation on extending the Ivory Act to other ivory-bearing species, including hippopotamus, on 17 July 2021. This consultation closed on 11 September 2021. A summary of responses will be published in due course.

Rhino horns do not contain ivory. However, the UK Government is at the forefront of international efforts to protect endangered animals and plants from poaching and illegal trade.

We are investing over £46 million between 2014 and 2022 to counter illegal trade by reducing demand, strengthening enforcement, ensuring effective legal frameworks, and developing sustainable livelihoods. For example, we have committed funding through the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund on multiple projects that prioritise rhino conservation, including for example, an initiative tackling poaching and the growing demand for rhino parts through behavioural change campaigns in Laos.

The UK has also provided funding to INTERPOL to expand its work on enforcement including, tracking, and intercepting illegal shipments of ivory, rhino horn and other illegal wildlife products to effectively tackle transnational criminal networks responsible.