FILE
751
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 2AH
From The Minister of State
HKC ISI 151
27 June 1989
Dear Johna,
Thank you for your letter of 17 May, enclosing one from your constituent, Mr George Kimby, of 76 Botley Road, Oxford, about the plight of the African elephant and trade in ivory through Hong Kong.
I am well aware of the strength of feeling on this issue. The Government are very concerned about the reported decline in the number of African elephants.
We announced on 23 May that we would press for an international ban on all trade in new ivory at the October meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), of which the UK was one of the original signatories. At the EC Environment Council on 8 June, the UK called for an immediate ban on the import into the European Community of raw and worked ivory. Pending the introduction of Community-wide measures, the Government have already announced an immediate ban on ivory imports into the UK with effect from 9 June.
We have also been in close touch with the Hong Kong authorities about this matter. As a party to CITES, by virtue of the extension of the UK's ratification, Hong Kong is required to implement the same controls as all other parties to the Convention and has strictly adhered to all the conservation and enforcement measures called for by CITES. It does this through specific Hong Kong legislation.
John Patten Esq MP House of Commons
LONDON
SW1A OAA
/The Hong Kong Government