4. Mr Lyster's proposal that all ivory still held by
commercial traders should be stored in a bonded warehouse is
a proposal which the WWF have been working on for some time. The idea is that dealers would have to explain all sales from stocks kept within, thus making it easier to prevent illegal trade. But as the ivory concerned is private property and has been legally acquired, the Hong Kong Government do not see how such a requirement could be justified.
5. Mr Lyster's other proposal is that the current stock of confiscated ivory (2.5 tonnes) should be destroyed as a demonstration of the Hong Kong Government's determination to
strict enforcement of the CITES ban. This proposal has also
been put forward by Mr Tony Banks MP. The Hong Kong Government have no plans to destroy confiscated stocks and believe that such a gesture is unnecessary. The UK has not yet reached a decision on disposal of its confiscated stocks. There is, in any case, no requirement under CITES to destroy stocks of confiscated ivory.
BRIABT/2
Rosalind Mande
R M Marsden