To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the UK meets its obligations on tackling the illegal wildlife trade under the 2014 London Declaration; and if he will make a statement.

I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

The Government are committed to the UK playing its part in helping to tackle the scourge of the illegal wildlife trade and meeting the commitments set out in the London Declaration. We will do this by:

delivering on the UK-specific commitments we set out in the UK Commitment to Action published in February 2014, such as continuing to fund the National Wildlife Crime Unit until 2016; continuing to work with our international partners in governments and key international organisations to ensure that the illegal wildlife trade has the high level political attention it deserves, in all relevant international fora, funding activities that will help developing countries tackle the illegal wildlife trade, using the £10 million fund announced by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend Mr Paterson, and the Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend Justine Greening, on 23 December 2013, including support for the Elephant Protection Initiative; supporting the Government of Botswana to host a follow-up conference in early 2015 to review progress internationally; and continuing to pursue a Government-wide approach to tackling the issue, overseen by the Inter-Ministerial Group on International Animal Welfare, chaired by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague).