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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to prevent further reductions in the world populations of elephants, rhinos and other species.

The Government works with a range of governments and international organisations on the conservation of endangered species, including elephants and rhino, through a number of fora. This includes the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) which protects around 35,000 species from unsustainable international trade. I attended the CITES Conference of Parties held in Johannesburg from 24 September to 5 October 2016, where the UK, working with the Member States of the European Union and other countries, played a major role in achieving strong outcomes for a number of species, including elephants and rhinos, that will help ensure their survival in the wild.

Poaching is a major threat to elephants, rhino and other species and the UK has played a leading role in efforts to combat the illegal wildlife trade. The UK was represented by the Secretary of State at the Illegal Wildlife Trade Vietnam conference, on 17-18 November 2016 in Hanoi, where new concrete actions to deliver on the commitments agreed at the previous London and Botswana conferences in 2014 and 2015 were secured. In addition, the Secretary of State announced an additional £13 million for measures tackling the illegal wildlife trade, doubling our investment.