TNAG-1954-FCO40-2783-Trade-of-rare-and-endangered-species-in-Hong-Kong-1989 — Page 6

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of the brothers, Poon Chi Kong (Sam) and Poon Tat Hong are Hong Kong residents, and hold Hong Kong Resident passports. The third brother is Poon Tat Wah (George) who holds a French passport.

EIA investigators have recorded a conversation with workers in the Poon's factory in Ajman in the UAE. They admitted that the ivory goes to Hong Kong. In another factory in Dubai, the manager of the Belhon Trading carving factory Simon Li, admitted in a filmed interview that his ivory want to Hong Kong.

In conversations with custom enforcement officials in Hong Kong I was told that less than 1% of all containers entering the port of Hong Kông are searched. As you are no doubt awara, Hong Kong is a major container port and it is easy to see the potential for smuggling ivory. The only way to tackle this is to close down the market so there is no incentive to import poached ivory,

The African elephant and African Governments need as much support as they can get. I was recently in Tanzania where the Government is trying against the odds to prevent poaching. The massage in the Tanzanian proposal for the upgrading of the African elephant to Appendix One of CITES is clear. The sooner the market is closed, the batter the chance of protecting the African elephant, which in East Africa is suffering an appalling decline in numbers.

The UK Government is in a position to exert pressure on Hong Kong to immediately stop imports of ivory. Please remember that virtually all ivory in trade came from a poached elephant, whether it has obtained the paperwork on its journey to the market or not. I am asking you to exert that pressure on Hong Kong in a very positive and conservation minded way. Such an initiative from the UK Government would be seen as a true effort to halp save the African elephant.

During the period from 1980 to 1987 when the African elephant population was suffering from an appalling decline, official figures show that 3,777 metric tonnes of raw ivory was imported into Hong Kong. Using a mean figure for recorded tusk sizes during this period, this is equivalent to over 300,000 African elephants. In addition to this huge quantities of workad ivory were also imported. Hong Kong bears a heavy responsibility for the African elephant population's very serious decline and the UK Government can act now to stop imports.

Yours sincerely,

Dan

Dave Curray

Executive Director, EIA.

cc Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher