TNAG-0469-FCO40-534-Legislation-for-protection-of-wild-life-in-Hong-Kong-1974 — Page 45

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

London S.W.1

From the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

LAST

AFF

19 Pace

3 June 1974 +

105

Dear Ken,

MELY

REF,

You wrote to Sir Anthony Royle on 12 December enclosing a letter which you had received from your then constituent, Mr EW Hill of Bridge Farm, Grendon, Atherstone, Warwickshire, about the BBC Radio 4 programme on the import of wildlife from 12) China into Hong Kong. Sir Anthony replied on 3 January, saying

that he was still looking into the questions raised by the BBC programme, and promising to send you a full reply as soon as possible.

J

Since the election the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Governor of Hong Kong have continued to examine with care what is being and should be done to deal with this difficult and complex problem. Hong Kong is, of course, predominantly a Chinese society. The Hong Kong Government do not seek to dictate to their people what they should or should not eat, provided that the animals and birds are humanely treated and killed, and that internationally accepted restrictions on trade in endangered species are observed. The Hong Kong Government are, however, well aware of the problems which arise from the wild-life trade and have recently passed further legislation and taken other measures to deal with them.

As far as endangered species are concerned, the Hong Kong Government have already hanned, as from 1 January 1974, the import- ation of threatened species listed in Appendix 1 to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. As for other potentially endangered species, such as those in Appendix II of the Convention, the decision on whether they were in fact endangered would be, under the Convention, with the Chinese Government. Our Ambassador in Pekinn hes therefore noticed tha I Speed

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