Written question asked by Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party) on Wednesday, 23 May 2018, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 4 June 2018. It was answered by Harriett Baldwin (Conservative) on Wednesday, 6 June 2018 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

South Africa: Poaching

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with its counterpart in South Africa on reducing poaching in that country.

Answer: The British High Commission in Pretoria regularly discusses illegal wildlife trade (IWT) issues with the South African Government and has funded joint projects to increase IWT law enforcement capacity and cooperation in the region. We have also raised this issue at the highest political levels: the Foreign Secretary last discussed IWT with the South African Foreign Minister, Lindiwe Sisulu, during a bilateral meeting on 17 April. In addition, the Foreign Secretary took advantage of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting to remind his Commonwealth opposite numbers of the importance of the counter-IWT agenda in general and in particular of senior attendance at the IWT Conference in London in October. We will continue to build on our partnership with the South African Government, including at the Conference itself.

Secondary information