source may only be traded if certain strict criteria have been met.
In May 1988, the European Community agreed to ban the commercial
import of ivory from 18 African countries. This has recently
increased to 19.
5. HMG, along with many other governments, until recently held the
view that a ban on trade might not be the best or only way of
protecting the elephant. It can be argued that the resulting
scarcity value of ivory may make smuggling an even more lucrative
prospect. However in the light of increasing calls for action and
in the face of growing evidence that the existing controls under
CITES were not sufficient to arrest the decline of the African
elephant, the Government announced on 23 May that there was now
clear evidence of a case for banning all trade in new elephant tusks
at the earliest practical opportunity. Lord Caithness called for concerted European support for a total ban at the council meeting of EC Environment Ministers on 8/9 June, and announced an immediate ban
on ivory, into the UK.
imports
6. The earliest opportunity to secure an international ban will be at the next CITES conference in October, and if a resolution in
these terms is passed, a global ban will come into effect after the standard 90 days provided for by CITES regulations. HMG have stated that they will call for other countries at the
Conference to support an immediate ban.
7.
Since HMG's announcement of their change in policy, media and public attention has switched to Hong Kong's role in the ivory trade. Hong Kong has for a number of years been singled out as a "worst offender" in the market for illegal ivory. There is no
clear-cut evidence to support these allegations but they persist
nonetheless.
8.
Hong Kong legislation has subjected raw and simply prepared ivory to import and export controls since 1978. In August last year they extended their controls to cover worked ivory, thus implementing in Hong Kong all the CITES recommendations in this area. Under local legislation, all applications for import and export of ivory are scrutinised carefully. All documentation is