Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in the (a) People's Republic of China, (b) United Arab Emirates and (c) Republic of Zimbabwe on the Republic of Zimbabwe's sale of 97 elephants to zoos in China and the UAE since 2012.

International trade in live elephants from Zimbabwe is permitted under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) if certain conditions are met. The UK does not have the power to intervene in the way in which another Party implements the Convention.

On 30 April, I spoke to Priscah Mupfumira, Zimbabwe Minister of Environment, Tourism and the Hospitality Industry, raising our concerns pertaining to elephants captured from the wild in Zimbabwe. Our Embassies in Beijing and Abu Dhabi are aware of the issue and regularly raise conservation issues with the respective governments.