3
C
Ivory stocks in Hong Kong
10.
Because of our control system, we know that there are, at present, some 100 tonnes of whole tusks, 400 tonnes of cut pieces and scraps, and 170 tonnes of worked ivory legally- held in Hong Kong. These represent legal imports accumulated over more than ten years. A large proportion of the existing stocks have been
been imported
imported from E.C. Member States and Japan with the approval of their respective governments. Claims that Hong Kong traders have been
been stockpiling in anticipation of a worldwide ban have no substance. Indeed, Hong Kong's annual ivory import in the past three years have decreased to one third of those in early 1980s, and in the first 6 months of 1989 Hong Kong has exported more ivory than it has imported.
Existing stocks should be traded
11.
The Hong Kong Government believes that the properly controlled trading of existing stocks of legally-acquired and legally-held ivory should be allowed to continue. To prevent such trade would be most unlikely to lead to enhanced prospects for the survival of the species. It would also be grossly unfair to those who have acquired ivory in strict compliance with CITES requirements and would undermine the credibility of the
international convention.
12.
It
A total and indiscriminate ban is a superficially attractive solution only.
risks driving the trade underground, creating illegal markets outside the control of CITES, and increasing the stakes for poaching.
Other considerations
13.
Hong Kong has some 3,000 workers and traders who depend on the trade for their livelihood. It is unfair to expect the workers, who are mostly aged craftsmen, earning a living with their life-long developed skill, to abruptly give up their
livelihood and the traders to lose all their investment in the form of ivory stocks.
Conclusion
14.
ΤΟ sum up, Hong Kong genuinely supports the conservation of all endangered species. As regards the African elephant we are doing our best to ensure that, in those areas under our control, no new ivory can enter existing
existing stocks and that only these stocks can be held or exported. We are of the view that no new ivory should be permitted to be traded unless fully effective control measures can be agreed by the parties to CITES. We believe that trading of the existing stocks of legally-acquired and legally-held ivory should be allowed
continue.
to
Agriculture and Fisheries Department
(CITES Management Authority)
Hong Kong.
October 1989
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