Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SWIA 2AH
208
нис HKC (SC
FILO.
From The Minister of State
TO MAY 1990
A
23 April 1990
Da Tom,
Thank you for your letter of 5 April to Francis Maude about ivory. I am replying as Minister responsible for this subject. I was glad to see that you have some more
encouraging news regarding a reduction in poaching in East Africa.
Regarding the ivory stocks in Hong Kong, there are no plans to destroy the ivory that does not have CITES documentation. Although 116 tonnes are without documents there is no evidence to suggest that they were illegally acquired. Some may have been imported before the Convention.
And CITES documents may have become detached from their ivory for a number of reasons, not least because the carvers are not a well educated profession and might not, in the past, have recognised the importance of the paper. The Hong Kong authorities have inspected all ivory stocks held in Hong Kong and have found no evidence of illegal importation. If they are presented with any evidence that some stocks are illegal, they will investigate it vigorously.
And in any event, no export licences will be granted for ivory without proper CITES documentation. Trade in the 116 tonnes without CITES documents will therefore be impossible.
The Hon Tom Sackville MP
House of Commons
LONDON
SW1A OAA
The Rt Hon William Waldegrave
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