Corrie (PPE-DE), draftsman of the opinion of the Committee on Development and Cooperation. – Mr President, any petition which receives 1.9 million signatures deserves to be treated seriously. I congratulate Mr De Rossa on his excellent report and the way in which he presented it today.

Firstly, can the Commissioner confirm that the action plan only covers tropical areas, and in particular the continent of Africa, and does not in any way impinge on hunting in the European Union, as some people are interpreting it?

Sensible action is vital and urgent for three reasons. Firstly, as Mr De Rossa has said, at least 150 million of the world's poorest people regard wildlife as a vital livelihood asset. Commercial hunting, the exploitation of timber and the opening-up of the forests are destroying the ecological balance and depriving local inhabitants of their food and livelihood.

Secondly, the totally indiscriminate killing of great ape species will wipe out gorillas and chimpanzees, which in countries such as Rwanda are a major sustainable tourist attraction and source of income that will be lost forever. The devastation of forests will also obliterate an ecology if logging is not urgently brought under control.

There is a third even more important point. The illegal exporting of bushmeat to all corners of the globe could have a devastating effect on health that would make SARS look like the common cold. Many gorillas and chimpanzees carry SIV, the animal equivalent of HIV, which can jump to humans – and has done so. That would be bad enough, but if ebola-infected meat reaches the world market, we could see a catastrophe far worse than HIV. Recently, 2 000 monkey noses were found in a suitcase at Amsterdam airport, showing that the illegal trade is thriving.

This resolution urges the Commission to adopt a series of measures, which I hope it will. However, making Heads of State in bushmeat countries aware of the situation and getting them, as the Commissioner has said, to take the lead in action to safeguard ecosystems and the wildlife they support would be a major step forward.