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Animal Products: Smuggling

Asked by Andrew RosindellReform UKDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled Answered 4 February 2025UIN 25659

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to prevent the illegal importation of rhino horns.

Answered by Mary Creagh

The UK has strict border controls in place to detect and prevent illegal imports. In 2022, Border Force seized two separate imports of rhino horn originating from China and South Africa. The UK’s National Wildlife Crime Unit also plays a critical role in preventing wildlife crime, including through intelligence work, threat analysis, and by directly assisting law enforcement.

Through our Biodiverse Landscape Fund we are working directly with partner Governments in the Kavango-Zambezi (KAZA) Transfrontier Conservation Area to tackle the illegal wildlife trade, including rhino poaching. We are also investing £30 million between 2022 and 2025 to tackle IWT globally, including through our Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund.

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