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<p> </p><p>Non-native wildlife specimens (including plants) may be retained for various
reasons by the Police, UK Border Force (UKBF), Royal Botanic Gardens Kew (RBG Kew),
local authorities and other organisations such as the RSPCA.</p><p>RBG Kew has a Plant
Quarantine Unit and keeps records of all plant material entering its collections but
not records of confiscated specimens that are returned to the people or location they
were confiscated from.</p><p> </p><p>UKBF re-homes seized wildlife after having consulted
with the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, the UK's CITES scientific authority
for fauna, on appropriate location. It has not been UK practice to return wildlife
to countries of export as there is no guarantee of its return to the wild or that
it will not re-enter illegal trade. UKBF does not disclose publically the locations
where seized items are held. All seized animals remain the property of the crown.</p><p>No
police-run facilities exist for the retention and care of non-native wildlife species
confiscated in the UK: each case is dealt with on an ad-hoc basis. Information about
returned specimens is not held centrally.</p><p>Defra does not hold information about
holding facilities used by local authorities and other organisations.</p><p> </p>
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