Written question asked by Mike Amesbury (Labour) on Wednesday, 1 March 2023, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 3 March 2023. It was answered by Trudy Harrison (Conservative) on Thursday, 9 March 2023 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Nature Conservation: Poaching

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the poaching of (a) jaguars and (b) endangered animals.

Answer: The UK is committed to protecting endangered animals and plants from poaching and illegal trade to benefit wildlife, local communities and the economy while protecting global security. As part of this commitment, we are increasing our funding and will invest a further £30 million between 2022 and 2025 to directly counter poaching and the illegal wildlife trade. Through Defra’s grant scheme, the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund, we are funding practical projects to protect endangered species – including jaguars - and reduce poverty in developing countries. This includes a project that aims to tackle the poaching of jaguars by targeting the illegal jaguar teeth trade in Bolivia by expanding local intelligence networks. Further information on Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund projects is available here: https://iwt.challengefund.org.uk/.

Secondary information