Kerry McCarthy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2014-04-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has been made on implementing a regional wildlife enforcement strategy in the Horn of Africa and addressing the illegal trade in shark fins.
George Eustice
Countries and stakeholders in the Horn of Africa held a wildlife trafficking workshop in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 3 to 4 October 2012 to discuss the formation of a regional enforcement network to address the illegal wildlife trade. Participants concluded that a Horn of Africa Wildlife Enforcement Network (HAWEN) should be set up. Ethiopia, on behalf of Horn of Africa countries that attended the workshop, submitted a progress report to the Sixteenth meeting of the Conference of Parties (CoP16) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which took place in Bangkok from 3 to 14 March 2013.
The work of Wildlife Enforcement Networks was welcomed at the recent London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade, chaired by my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary. Action XVI in the Declaration adopted at the Conference commits participating governments to strengthening cross‐border and regional co‐operation, through better co‐ordination and full support for regional wildlife law enforcement networks. Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda, all of which are members of HAWEN, attended the London Conference.
The UK Government is wholly opposed to the wasteful and unsustainable practice of shark finning, and the illegal trade in fins. We continue to lead the way in pressing for the adoption of appropriate fisheries and trade controls within bodies such as the Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) and CITES, in order to ensure any trade in shark products is rooted in sustainable fishing practices. At CoP16 the UK played a critical role in securing increased protection under CITES for five shark species, all of which form an important component of the shark fin trade. This now means that these species will be protected from unmanaged and unsustainable trade in their fins. UK officials continue to work closely with other likeminded countries and non-governmental organisations to help build capacity and ensure that the CITES rules are fully implemented.
