TNAG-2133-FCO40-3048-Hong-Kong-and-the-ivory-trade-1990 — Page 117

Mr Gass

Private Secretary

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Phac. wilt

- 3 AUG 1990

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Julian Evans

27 July 1990

ESED

Mr Stone HKD PS/Mr Lennox-Boyd

300

IVORY: COMMENTS BY MR HEATHCOAT-AMORY

Mr Stone (HKD) has passed on to me your manuscript minute about comments made by Mr Heathcoat-Amory in the House of Commons yesterday.

1.

2.

I attach the relevant extract from Hansard, from which you can see that the press have gone overboard and taken the comments somewhat out of context. Nevertheless, it is unfortunate that Mr Heathcoat-Amory chose to express himself quite in that way. What he was referring to was the decision taken at the CITES Conference to consider allowing some trade in ivory legally obtained from culling herds in Southern Africa (eg Botswana and Zimbabwe) from the next CITES conference in 1992/93 provided those herds were capable of sustaining such culling.

3. The DOE are taking the flak on this one and we shall send any correspondence to them. After all, they lead on our general ivory policy as opposed to Hong Kong ivory. DOE press office are taking the line that their Minister's remarks were taken out of context, distorted, and generally misquoted. News Department have all the relevant papers.

4.

The really irritating aspect of this is that the comments were made in an adjournment debate on ivory about which we were not informed. Although the main question was the future of a UK ivory trading firm in the West Country Mr Heathcoat-Amory's speech referred to Hong Kong. The DOE should have consulted us and I shall be writing to complain.

Julian Evans ESED