Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his policy is on the farming of endangered species for commercial gain.
The UK is committed to the protection of endangered species, including through playing a leading role in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). CITES promotes the sustainability of endangered species through either prohibiting trade or strictly controlling any trade through a licensing system. The breeding and ranching of endangered species for commercial gain can be permitted under CITES. The UK fully supports the aims of CITES and works to ensure that assessment of whether trade should be permitted for any particular species is based on robust scientific evidence.