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Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1
A E Donald Esq Political Adviser HONG KONG
Telephone 01-
Your reference
Our reference HAK 7/1
Date
27 August 1974
US:
***
174
82
18
الولاي
Alan
TRADE IN ENDANGERED SPECIES OF WILDLIFE
1.
NEA
Ref.
1898
On 24 July I wrote to Nichols, the Director of Agriculture, about a letter to the Secretary of State from a Mrs Turmer in which she suggested that the China Wildlife Company in Hong Kong were continuing to sell the Giant Salamander, an Appendix I specis under the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species. I have since seen your letter to Fursland of 15 August, that you are considering approving the import of two 'metric tons of Giant Salamander.
2.
On the face of it, this does not seem to be consistent with what we have told a number of MPs and members of the public on the authority of the Hong Kong Government, that you banned, with effect from 1 January 1974, the importation of all threatened species listed in Appendix I.
3.
Has there been any change of policy, or could the Salamanders referred to in your letter escape the bun in some way (for example, because they are "artificially bred and raised")7 Either way we would have some difficulty in explaining away he categorical assurances that we have given.
4.
In any case, I should be grateful for your comments so that I can write again to Mrs Turmer. I have not yet heard from
Nichols.
Yours ever
Andrew
ཨ་ན་
A C Stuart
Hong Kong & Indian Ocean Dept.
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