UK Parliament / Open data

Ivory Bill

Proceeding contribution from Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour) in the House of Lords on Tuesday, 13 November 2018. It occurred during Debate on bills on Ivory Bill.

My Lords, the Bill represents a significant step towards ending the illegal elephant-poaching crisis. It will enshrine in UK law the commitment made at the 2016 CITES convention to close down the domestic ivory markets that fuel illegal poaching. We believe that the exemptions permitted, carefully crafted in consultation with stakeholders, strike the balance between being robust and pragmatic. I welcome the Minister’s clarification that we can help by taking the value out of the market.

The Minister raised the question of items containing voids and the de minimis issue. While we agree very much with the advice that he has now given, there may be occasional cases where assessing the ivory content of an item is not straightforward. We believe that such items ought to be rare and can be picked up in the guidance that will follow.

3.15 pm

I thank the noble Lord, Lord Gardiner, for successfully steering the Bill through the House and bringing it back for Third Reading today. Ivory is an emotive topic for conservationists, musicians and antique dealers alike. I commend the Minister and his team for their unfailing courtesy in what were not always the easiest of discussions and for their resolve in ensuring that the Bill will prohibit dealing in ivory with only a few narrowly defined exemptions. I am delighted that there is cross-party support for the Bill and, ultimately, unanimous support for its overarching objective of ending the illegal poaching of elephants. I thank my Front Bench colleague, my noble friend Lord Grantchester, for his support and all noble Lords around the House for their contributions over the past weeks and months.

Members of the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee and the Constitution Committee scrutinised the Bill, and I am particularly grateful for the continued engagement of members of those committees during our debates on the Bill. The amendments brought forward by the Government on Report on those recommendations will ensure that the powers of civilian enforcement officers are clear and appropriate and that the guidance is subject to parliamentary scrutiny.

I am also very grateful to the Minister and his team for listening to concerns about the impact of the prohibition on other ivory-bearing species, whose numbers are dwindling due to the illegal ivory trade. As we have heard, hippos, whales and walruses are becoming endangered, and I welcome the Government’s amendment to extend the scope of the prohibition on dealing in ivory to other species and urge them to launch their consultation on this as soon as possible.

I put on record my particular thanks to the various organisations that have provided helpful briefings on this Bill, including the World Wildlife Fund, the IFAW, Born Free and the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation. Their knowledge of animal welfare and experience of the illicit wildlife trade has enabled us to table amendments that ensured several critical issues were explored and debated in depth. I am also grateful to the Musicians’ Union for its help in exploring the impact of the ban on its industry. Lastly, I echo the Minister’s thanks to the Public Bill Office staff and to all those involved in the House service who aided the preparation and passage of the Bill. It is now in safe hands and it is up to the Secretary of State to take this forward so that it is not just a UK ban but ultimately a global ban, which is what we all aspire to.

About this proceeding contribution

Reference

793 cc1789-1790 

Session

2017-19

Chamber / Committee

House of Lords chamber

Legislation

Ivory Bill 2017-19
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