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↑ J B George Req
APA
Hong Kong
RESTRICTED
BRITISH #BAY
MOTING
LAST
110
181
17 July 1974
Chinese
LOFFICIAL
IN ORT TIC OF CHINAVE VILDLIFE WTC NG KONG
In
1. I finally got an appointment yesterday with the Ministry of
griculture and Forestry to follow up the question of giant salamanders raised in your letter R 19/3231/73 of 11 dne. addition to making specifio enquirios about the giant salamander (which, of course, I did in terms of my Ambassador's previous discussion with lang Tung and not in the context of the Convention on International Trade in ndangered Species), I had naked for a general chat about conservation of wildlife in China; 2 precis of this may be of interest and use to you.
2.
From the start the Chinese were at great pains to emphasise the importance which their Government attached to wildlife conservation. The Chinese Government had regulations for the protection of wildlife, forests and plants. Enforcement of thesc regulations was the responsibility of the Ministry of ericulture and Forestry and of the local authorities.#It worked on a system of rewards to individuals for contributions to the preservation of wildlife and plants; and of education and criticim (and nome- times even punishment) of anyone who contravened the regulations.
3. Conservation was based on the two principles of breeding of rare specios and restrictions on the hunting of them. Braically there seemed to be two grades of rare species. It was completely forbidden to hunt the rarest grade either in their breeding grounds or outside unless specific permission had been obtained from the authorities; this permission might be given if the animals were required for scientific research, for zoos, for exchanges with other countries or for "people's daily life" This trade of species included pandas, golden-haired monkeys, tokkinn, tho North-Past tigers, wild elephants, wild ox and red-haired oranes. s to the less rare grade of protected species, hunting of them wes subject to an annual quote and to regulations about the gensong in which they might be hunted; in humanitarian interests there were also regulations about the methods and instructions to be used in hunting them.
B
4. I knew that there had been a ten day meeting in October 1973 under the aegis of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to revise the draft regulations about the conservation of vildlife and nature. I asked if it would be possible to see a copy of these regulations or, failing that, a complete list of the protected
/species