M. A. WEBSTER" cartiary of Hong Kong haters conservancy decoration
ITH FLOOR, FLAT D.
NATHAN ROAD,
KOWLOON.
TEL. 3-806787
February 20, 1974
Krs. Abel,
Barn Cottage,
Chislet,
Nr. Canterbury Kent:
Dear Mrs. Abel,
also World Wildlife Fund.
In Hong
Many thanks for your two letters regarding the China animal trade. Kong, we are getting nowhere fast, and we need all the help we can get, lettera
!Ps (when you have new ones!), to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office,
alsoRSPCA, and so on. We are very grateful
here for all the interest shown by you and the others who responded to Patricia Penn's documentary.
he trade.
I give herewith a concise schedule of specific cruelty in
Cruelty during handling
1) Cages generally too small; thrown about during handling without ragard for the sufferings of the animal inside.
b) Birds trussed up with wire, or with wire through the cere and the lower mandible to hold the bill together.
o) Animals, such as civets, damaged in capture, e.g. broken legs from use of gin-traps; injuries never treated; monkeys with damaged hands or tails, probably through being caught in a cage-door.
d) llo food or water during transit, which may take several days, or in the shop (in most cases).
⚫) Natural enemies placed in view of each other, e.g. Peregrine and pigeons. f) Animals prodded with sticks, iron bars, or lighted cigarettes to see how fierce they are (important for quasi-medicinal uses).
g) Leopard cats and other potentially vicious animals swung by the tail on transfer from one cage to another.
h) Young pangolins, which cannot be sold, ripped off their dams and thrown
away.
2. Cruelty during killing/eating
Pangolins have the scales ripped off while they are still alive.
b) snakes are skinned alivd.
c) civets are probably killed by scalding.
d) birds, such as Quail, have the feathers and skin ripped off; still alive when the process starts.
they are
.) monkeys' brains eaten from the still living animal (rare nowadays). f) civeta and snakes have ceftain glands cut out before the killing process,
3.
Conservation dangers
a) large numoers of birds of prey involved, say 10,000+ a year.
b) Giant Chinese Salamander (an endangered species on Schedule I of the new IVON convention) is regularly available in the market.
•) 4000 Chinese pangolinc (on Schedule II of the Convention) were imported in the financial year 1972-73.
d) skins of tigers, leopards, clouded leopards readily available at all times. .) apart from birds of prey, many other imported species feed largely on rodents, and the trade is therefore creating the danger of a rodent plague by
removing their natural predators.
f) Note that China is officially very conscious of the need for
conservation of her wildlife..
Many thanks for all your help. I hope between us we shall eventually get this trade stopped.
Michael Webster.
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