The Secretary of State has not discussed the levels of rhino poaching with her counterpart in the Botswana Government. However, officials met with the Botswana delegation, including the Minister of Environment and Tourism, ahead of and during the Conference of Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES COP19). Discussions covered a range of important biodiversity issues, including sustainable conservation and the challenges facing local communities living alongside large animals.

The Secretary of State has not discussed the poaching of rhinos in Namibia with her Namibian counterpart. However, her Ministerial team recently met with their counterparts in Namibia in advance of CBD CoP15 and discussed a range of biodiversity issues, including protected areas and species targets.

The UK is fully committed to protecting endangered animals and plants from poaching and illegal trade to benefit wildlife, local communities and the economy, and protect global security. At the recent Conference of Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES COP19) held in Panama, the UK engaged proactively in discussions with Namibia and other countries on the continued poaching and illegal trade in rhinos, fully supporting the reconvening of the Rhinoceros Enforcement Task Force which we consider to be a key instrument for addressing this issue. The illegal harvesting of wildlife has also been identified as a priority issue in Namibia and the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA) under our new Biodiverse Landscapes Fund. Through this we aim to strengthen policy, legal and judicial procedure by improving the capacity of investigators and prosecutors, facilitating intelligence analysis and information sharing, supporting legislative reform, and revising sentencing guidelines for wildlife crimes.

The UK is committed to protecting endangered animals and plants from poaching and illegal trade to benefit nature, people, the economy and protect global security.

The UK Government engages regularly with key counterparts across Africa on the illegal wildlife trade, including through our overseas missions. We are mobilising the expertise of the British military to provide professional training to Zambian park rangers in more effective and safer counter-poaching techniques. Furthermore, we engage regularly in the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA) to support the delivery of the Biodiverse Landscapes Fund, a new £100 million programme, that will deliver conservation, poverty reduction and climate outcomes, including tackling the illegal wildlife trade and poaching. KAZA is an area spanning five countries in southern Africa and hosting fifty percent of Africa's savannah elephants.

The UK does not undertake its own assessment. Global assessments of poaching and illegal trade in elephants and their ivory are carried out through two programmes operated through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The MIKE (Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants) system monitors trends in levels of illegal killing of elephants and ETIS (Elephant Trade Information System) monitors the pattern and scale of illegal trade in ivory and other elephant specimens.

The IUCN African Elephant Specialist Group also carries out African elephant population assessments and trends by country and published the African Elephant Status Report in 2016. This report includes elephant numbers at a national level.

The UK does not undertake its own assessment. Global assessments of poaching and illegal trade in elephants and their ivory are carried out through two programmes operated through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The MIKE (Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants) system monitors trends in levels of illegal killing of elephants and ETIS (Elephant Trade Information System) monitors the pattern and scale of illegal trade in ivory and other elephant specimens.

The IUCN African Elephant Specialist Group also carries out African elephant population assessments and trends by country and published the African Elephant Status Report in 2016. This report includes elephant numbers at a national level.