POLAR BEARS AND CITES APPENDIX I

Early day motion 825, tabled 6 December 2012 by Mark Durkan (Social Democratic and Labour Party). Signed by 115 members.

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.

Signatures by party: Labour 62, Liberal Democrat 29, Conservative 8, DUP 5, Scottish National Party 4, Social Democratic and Labour Party 3, Alliance 1, Green 1, Independent 1, Respect 1.