To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will use his vote at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora conference in the Netherlands in June this year to support the 20 year moratorium proposal relating to elephant conservation; and if he will make it his policy to oppose further calls to trade in ivory. (138073)

No decision has yet been made on whether a one-off ivory sale should go ahead. The UK will only support this if all conditions previously agreed by the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 2002 have been met. The UK is currently considering the evidence to decide whether those criteria have been met and will also look to be informed by the African Elephant Dialogue meeting that will take place between 30 May-1 June, immediately prior to the CITES Standing Committee.

Nevertheless, the UK continues to support the global ban on any general commercial trade in ivory, a ban which has been in place since 1989. If any one-off sale is agreed, we would not expect to agree any further sales or annual quotas until the effects of such an event have been assessed. However, the concept of a fixed period moratorium is not in keeping with the way that CITES operates, where decisions are taken on the best scientific and trade data available at any time.