Kerry McCarthy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2014-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25 January 2012, Official Report, column 260W, on China: animal welfare, whether his Department has made representations to the Chinese government on standards of animal welfare in fur farms in China.

Mr Hugo Swire

We have not made specific representations on animal welfare in fur farms. However the UK is supportive of international efforts to protect animal welfare. We hosted a high level international conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade in London in February 2014 where the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt hon, Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) spoke to highlight the importance of action on this issue.

Over 40 countries, including China participated in the conference, during which, we secured significant commitments, including on the ivory trade, on government procurement of wildlife products, and on treating international wildlife trafficking as a serious organised crime. We are following up with China and other participating countries on this issue.

Following the conference, Chinese authorities have passed a new law making the consumption of rare wild animals an offence punishable by ten-years in prison.