Strasbourg, 14/01/2004 (Agence Europe) -The European Parliament has adopted the report by Irish Socialist Proinsas De Rossa on the protection and conservation of the large apes and other species threatened with extinction by the illegal trade in bush meat. The report follows a petition presented in 2000 by the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums in association with the International Fund for the Protection of Animals, which collected 1.9 million signatures. The Parliament calls for special attention to be paid to this phenomenon by the European Union in the context of its development cooperation policy. It considers that 10% of the funds available under the European Development Fund or the settlement on financial aid to Latin America and Asia should be devoted to the preservation of these species and to combating the trade in bush meat. The programmes on conservation and the rational use of Central Africa's forest eco-systems as well as the programme against poaching in Central Africa should be reinforced.