To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with Japanese environment ministers regarding the international ban on whaling. (145556)

There have been no discussions between DEFRA Ministers and Japanese Environment Ministers on this issue.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Government are taking to ensure the conservation of whales. (145557)

The UK has been, and will remain, at the forefront of the fight to ensure that anti-whaling countries do not restart commercial whaling or reduce the level of protection for cetacean species around the world.

At this year’s annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), the UK and other anti-whaling countries were able to secure a resolution that reaffirmed the continued need for the IWC moratorium on commercial whaling. This resolution subsequently served us well in the Conference of Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, enabling us to defeat proposals aimed at eventually allowing trade in whale products to take place.