TNAG-1956-FCO40-2785-Trade-of-rare-and-endangered-species-in-Hong-Kong-1989 — Page 53

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Environment Minister, David Trippier, tonight welcomed the decisive vote at the CITES Conference in Lausanne in favour of transferring the African elephant to Appendix I of the

Convention.

He said:

"This completes the process the Government put in hand in June when we took the lead in the European Community in

The solution pressing for a complete ban on trade in ivory. which the Conference has adopted achieves our objective of securing immediate Appendix I listing for the elephant while allowing those countries which believe that they can manage their elephants on a substainable basis to argue the case for resuming trade at a later date. I am sorry that some southern African states nevertheless indicated their intention to enter reservations. I am in no doubt that this solution offers real hope for the long term future of the species.

There has been much speculation about the Government's attitude to the stocks of ivory held in Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong delegates are, formally, part of our delegation and we have ensured that they have had a full opportunity to present their case for the continued trading of their stocks. But it is not our place to seek to influence the Conference on their behalf and if the matter comes to a vote the United Kingdom delegation is under instructions to abstain."