Richard Benyon MP
Parliamentary Under Secretary
DEFRA
Nobel House
17 Smith Square
London SW1P 3JR

29^th January 2013

Dear Richard,

With the Convention on International Trade and Endangered Species(CITES) drawing near, I am delighted by news that the Government  has agreed to support the US proposal to upgrade polar bears to Appendix 1.

I agree that polar bears should be given special protection from the twin threats posed by climate change and the international commercial trade in polar bear skins and parts – both legal and illegal. I have added my support to this EDM:

That this House notes that the next meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) will take place in March 2013; recognises the near consensus in the scientific community that the warming in the Arctic is a genuine threat to polar bears, with the majority of studied populations declining; accepts that international commercial trade is the second greatest threat to polar bears, with hunting figures increasing in correlation with demand and prices for polar bear skins; regrets that polar bears are only listed in CITES Appendix II, leaving them unprotected against hunting for export; welcomes therefore the proposal from the US, supported by Russia, to uplist polar bears from Appendix II to Appendix I; and urges the Government fully to support this proposal, including by encouraging a positive common approach by all EU governments at CITES in Thailand in spring 2013.

I appreciate the Government’s strong stance on this issue and hope you can tell me what the UK is doing to build a European consensus in support of  polar bears being listed on Appendix 1,  in order to guarantee a successful outcome at the CITES meeting in March.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Caroline Lucas MP, Brighton Pavilion

Read the ministerial response here