2
5.
Hong Kong neither
consumes nor produces ivory. But we are a large ivory trading and carving centre and have a more comprehensive system of control than possibly anywhere
anywhere else. This paper outlines this system.
The control system in Hong Kong
6. into
No ivory, either in worked or raw form, may be imported Hong Kong without a licence issued in advance by the Agriculture and Fisheries Department, the CITES Management Authority of Hong Kong. Licensing policy follows closely the CITES provisions and the CITES "Ivory Trade Control Procedure". Only ivory from CITES-approved source (with CITES Export Quota or registered with CITES) may be imported.
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On arrival, every shipment is physically inspected staff of the Agriculture and Fisheries Department in conjunction with the Customs & Excise Department to ensure that the number, weight and marking of ivory tusks conform with the CITES export permit. Irregularities will
will be investigated and prosecution instituted if there is any evidence of an offence. Conviction will result in heavy fines, forfeiture of the ivory and imprisonment for up to 6 months.
8.
Pending the outcome of the Conference of Parties to CITES, we imposed a ban on the import of raw ivory on 16 June
1989.
9.
Meanwhile, to ehance our already stringent control on the ivory trade and to further deter the illegal import of ivory, the Hong Kong Government has recently adopted the following measures:
(a) all ivory stocks in Hong Kong must be identified and registered with the Hong Kong Management Authority; a computer data base has been
been set up to monitor the movement of all registered ivory;
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
all companies dealing in commercial quantities of ivory will be required to take out possession licences;
the export of all commercial quantities of all forms of ivory will require to be licensed in advance by the Hong Kong Management Authority;
a Special Task Force has been set up in the Customs and Excise Department. It works in close co-operation with the Agriculture and Fisheries Department to investigate and suppress any illegal ivory trade through Hong Kong;
maximum fines for violating our endangered species legislation have been increased 5-fold to HK$50,000 (about US$6,400) to deter would-be offenders. This is
in addition to the mandatory forfeiture consignments found to be illegal.
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