That this House recognises that African elephants are facing an unprecedented crisis with an average of one killed every 15 minutes for its ivory; welcomes the action taken internationally by the Government to combat the ivory trade and protect elephants in their natural habitat; further recognises that both the illegal ivory trade and the existence of legal domestic markets are helping to fuel this trade; notes that ivory, both legal and illegal, is being traded on a daily basis within the UK; further notes that illegal ivory items seized by police and the Border Force in the UK has been falsely antiqued using artificial stains or ageing techniques, and are clearly destined for the legal antique market; notes that domestic ivory markets are known to provide cover for the illegal trade in ivory and also reinforce the high value of ivory across and the world; notes that China has announced a domestic ivory trade ban by the end of 2017; and calls on the Government to press for a total ban on ivory sales and to close down the UK ivory market, including that of antique ivory, with immediate effect.

That this House recognises that African elephants are facing an unprecedented crisis with an average of one killed every 15 minutes for its ivory; welcomes the action taken internationally by the Government to combat the ivory trade and protect elephants in their natural habitat; further recognises that both the illegal...

That this House recognises that African elephants are facing an unprecedented crisis with an average of one killed every 15 minutes for their ivory; welcomes the action taken internationally by the Government to combat the ivory trade and protect elephants in their natural habitat; further recognises that both the illegal ivory trade and the existence of legal domestic markets are helping fuel this trade; notes that ivory, both legal and illegal, is being traded on a daily basis within the UK; further notes that illegal ivory items seized by police and the Border Force in the UK have been falsely antiqued, using artificial stains or ageing techniques, clearly destined for the legal antique market; notes that domestic ivory markets are known to provide cover for the illegal trade in ivory and also reinforce the high value of ivory across the world; notes that China has announced a domestic ivory trade ban by the end of 2017; and therefore calls on the Government to implement its commitment to press for a total ban on ivory sales and close down the UK ivory market, including that of antique ivory, with immediate effect.

That this House recognises that African elephants are facing an unprecedented crisis with an average of one killed every 15 minutes for their ivory; welcomes the action taken internationally by the Government to combat the ivory trade and protect elephants in their natural habitat; further recognises that both the illegal...

That this House notes that in 2008-09 the Government spent 40.2 million on bilateral aid to China and 297 million to India; further notes that China and India's economies grew 9.1 per cent. and 7.4 per cent. respectively in 2009; further notes their unfair and restrictive trade arrangements with the rest of the world; and calls on the Government to concentrate its aid on countries prepared to implement fair trade policies with the rest of the world.

That this House notes that in 2008-09 the Government spent 40.2 million on bilateral aid to China and 297 million to India; further notes that China and India's economies grew 9.1 per cent. and 7.4 per cent. respectively in 2009; further notes their unfair and restrictive trade arrangements with the...

That this House notes Bassetlaw has been declared a Fairtrade district; welcomes this announcement; thanks local businesses, community groups, schools and faith organisations for their commitment to fair trade; encourages others to support this campaign and provide Fairtrade products; and congratulates the Fairtrade for Bassetlaw steering committee on its hard work over the last year.

That this House notes Bassetlaw has been declared a Fairtrade district; welcomes this announcement; thanks local businesses, community groups, schools and faith organisations for their commitment to fair trade; encourages others to support this campaign and provide Fairtrade products; and congratulates the Fairtrade for Bassetlaw steering committee on its hard...

That this House notes the Government's review of its Bird Registration Scheme; believes that the current scheme allows the origin and parentage of birds kept by birdkeepers to be traced; further believes that this has acted as a successful deterrent to taking some of the UK's rarest birds from the wild, aiding the recovery of populations of species such as the goshawk and peregrine falcon; notes with concern that the consultation includes options to abolish the Bird Registration Scheme or scale it back significantly; believes that such change would save only a small amount of money while potentially threatening the continued recovery of populations of some rare bird species; further believes that changes can be made to the Bird Registration Scheme which would make it cheaper to administer without undermining its central purpose; and calls on the Government, in its consideration of the response to its consultation, to retain the Bird Registration Scheme in its current form, and look at the scope for extending its provisions to better protect a number of rare European and globally endangered species threatened by trade and inadequately protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

That this House notes the Government's review of its Bird Registration Scheme; believes that the current scheme allows the origin and parentage of birds kept by birdkeepers to be traced; further believes that this has acted as a successful deterrent to taking some of the UK's rarest birds from the...

That this House believes that strong international controls to ban trade in ivory are necessary to protect endangered elephants; acknowledges that the European Union's abstention on a vote to relax the ban on international ivory trade at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in 1997 allowed a limited resumption in ivory trade between three southern African countries and Japan; notes that this trade has led to an increase in poaching across Africa and Asia in anticipation of a resumption of ivory trading; further notes that many elephant range states do not have the resources to prevent poaching; and strongly urges the Government fully to support the restoration of a ban on international trade in ivory at the next CITES Conference of the Parties in 2002 by supporting the proposal by Kenya and India to uplist all populations of African elephants to Appendix I of CITES.

That this House believes that strong international controls to ban trade in ivory are necessary to protect endangered elephants; acknowledges that the European Union's abstention on a vote to relax the ban on international ivory trade at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in 1997 allowed a limited...

That this House condemns the illegal trade in endangered species which is estimated to be worth billions of pounds annually; notes that this illegal trade is responsible for driving certain species towards extinction; further notes that the United Kingdom is a major centre for the trade in illegal wildlife products; strongly supports WWF and TRAFFIC's Wildlife Trade Campaign which calls for higher penalties and appropriate sentences to effectively deter those involved in the illegal trade in wildlife; and calls upon the Government to increase the maximum sentence under COTES Enforcement Regulations from two to five years to make this an arrestable offence and to commit to ask for guidelines to be issued to magistrates and judges on wildlife crime.

That this House condemns the illegal trade in endangered species which is estimated to be worth billions of pounds annually; notes that this illegal trade is responsible for driving certain species towards extinction; further notes that the United Kingdom is a major centre for the trade in illegal wildlife products;...