Written question asked by Lord Moran (Crossbench), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Rooker (Labour) on Wednesday, 4 June 2008.

Animal Welfare: Wild Birds

Question: asked Her Majesty's Government:Which of the 11 non-European Union species proposed by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee for inclusion in Schedule 4 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 already have captive populations in the United Kingdom; and whether this has any effects on the laundering of wild birds smuggled into the United Kingdom.

Answer: Of the 12 species originally proposed by the JNCC for listing in Schedule 4, nine are non-EU species. Animal Health has issued CITES permits for six species (red-browed amazon; red-tailed amazon; hyacinth macaw; blue-throated macaw; red vented/Philippine cockatoo; and Bali starling) in the past 10 years, indicating that these species have been kept in captivity in the UK. The EU ban on wild bird imports has meant that, other than birds imported for conservation programmes, only captive-bred birds from approved breeding establishments have been permitted for import into the EU. Any import of wild non-EU birds would be contrary to the ban and CITES regulations. I consider that these regulations maintain a satisfactory level of control on any trade in the nine species, and there is no evidence to suggest that these controls do not work. I do not consider that the listing of the nine non-EU species in Schedule 4 in England would have any effect on any illegal take of these species that may occur from the wild in third countries.

Secondary information