asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether animals and plants on Appendix II of the Washington Convention are subject to uniform controls in the United Kingdom; whether any are subject to strict regulation; and whether any are subject to automatic licensing for record purposes only.

Licences are required for the import into the United Kingdom of animals and plants included on Appendix II of the Washington Convention. While these licences are normally issued readily, a permit is also required from the country of export. These controls are applied uniformly, except that international trade in birds of prey and a few other species on Appendix II of the Convention has been made subject to the stricter controls applied to Appendix I species. No species covered by the Convention is subject to automatic licensing for record purposes only, although controls have been applied to international trade in certain species not covered by the Convention to enable this trade to be monitored.