1719
PS/Lord Goranw-Roberts
186
IMPORTATION OF WILDLIFE FROM CHINA INTO HONG KONG
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Mr Tam Dalyell MP wrote to the Secretary of State for Trade on 29 July enclosing a letter from the Fauna Preservation Society. This letter was mislaid in the Department of Trade. Mr Shore's Private Secretary wrote to Mr Dalyell's Private Secretary on 6 September apologising from the delay, and saying that she had forwarded the letter to Lord Goronwy-Roberts's office for reply.
Mr Dalyell wrote to FCO Ministers last year about this subject. In part of the reply he was told that our Ambassador in Peking had raised the question with the Chinese Government. The Fauna Preservation Society are now asking if any news from Peking
has been received.
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Since the Ambassador raised the whole question of the treatment of protected species with the Chinese authorities on 5 March there has been no official response from them. However, in following up a specific enquiry about the Chinese Giant Salamander, the Embassy has managed to obtain from the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries a fair amount of information about the preservation of wildlife in China. The Embassy was not able to obtain a list of protected species in China and no information about the export and transportation of wild animals into Hong Kong. However, I do not think we are likely to obtain, at least in the immediate future, much more information than has already been received from Peking.
4.
I accordingly submit a draft reply to Mr Dalyell.
16 September 1974
DeSLE
A C Stuart
Hong Kong & Indian Ocean Dept.
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