CONFIDENTIAL
in the hope that the next CITES Conference in 2 years' time will
relax the restrictions on trade. Although the Hong Kong Government
are not responsible for the failure of Hong Kong traders to dispose
of their stocks, this is clearly a weak point in our case.
Size of Stockpile
10.
Another weak point in our case is the discrepancy which has
recently come to light between the latest figure given by the Hong
Kong Government for the size of the ivory stockpile (474 tonnes) and
the figure which they gave last year (670 tonnes). Before the CITES
Conference in October 1989, Hong Kong estimated that the total stock
of legally acquired ivory in the territory was about 670 tonnes
worth £85 million. This was the figure which we quoted in
justifying our decision to enter a reservation on Hong Kong's
behalf.
11. The Hong Kong Government has now acknowledged that this figure
was only an estimate based on information supplied by ivory dealers.
Following the introduction of a statutory requirement for the
registration of all commercial ivory stocks in January, it emerged
that the actual size of the stockpile was then only 474 tonnes.
Although 50 tonnes had been exported in the interim, it is clear
that the earlier estimate was highly inaccurate. This discrepancy
has led conservationists to claim that 200 tonnes of ivory have simply disappeared from the territory and may have been illegally
exported. This is a suggestion which we need to counter.
11
CITES documentation
12. A second problem is that 116 tonnes out of the 474 tonnes was
found to have no valid CITES documentation. Hong Kong have
explained that the 116 tonnes include ivory which was imported
before the introduction of CITES controls or which has become
detached from its CITES documentation. This discovery casts doubt on our previous claim that all Hong Kong's ivory stocks had been
legally acquired. We therefore need to stress the fact that no
ivory which does not have CITES documentation will be allowed to be
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