THE import of mahogany into Britain through ports such as Heysham came under scrutiny in a national television programme last night (Wednesday). The programme, filmed by an undercover Channel 4 Dispatches team in Brazil, exposed the felling of mahogany trees in protected reserves which is threatening the lives of Amazonian tribes people. And, the programme claimed, wood illegally logged in the reserves by small local companies is subsequently bought by businesses affiliated to the international timber trade association AIMEX.

Some of that wood, it was alleged, is then imported into this country through ports like Heysham.

However, John Gilmartin of the North Lancashire Stevedores company which unloads timber arriving at Heysham, said that any of that illegal wood finding its way through the port was very unlikely.

He said: "Documents have to be checked. Our people are A1 people and if they found out that some timber was from an illegal cutting they would stop working with that source immediately. They would run a mile because nobody can afford to be involved with something like this."

The problem of illegal logging in restricted areas is threatening lives according to Dispatches. One Arara tribesman interviewed by the television team said: "They destroy the wood, the forest and the game. We won't have anything to eat. If we can't eat we will die of hunger."

According to recent figures, two thirds of the mahogany imported into the UK comes via the link between Heysham and the Brazilian port of Belem.

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