TNAG-2133-FCO40-3048-Hong-Kong-and-the-ivory-trade-1990 — Page 59

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_threi

RV

317,

176756

MDHIAN 5963

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FM HONG KONG

TO DESKBY 25093OZ FCO

TELNO 3109

OF 250851Z OCTOBER 90

316

YRTELNO 1959: IVORY PQ'S

TOP COPY DIST?

1. OUR CLARIFICATION ON THE DRAFT ANSWERS TO 3231 AND 3301 IS AS FOLLOWS:

3231

IT IS CORRECT THAT THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF ALL COMMERCIAL IVORY STOCKS IN HONG KONG AS AT 7 JULY 1990 WAS 468 TONNES (TO THE NEAREST TONNE). BETWEEN 7 TO 17 JULY 1990, A TOTAL OF 4.9 TONNES OF IVORY WAS EXPORTED FROM HONG KONG AND CONSEQUENTLY THE COMMERCIAL IVORY STOCK IN HONG KONG WAS REDUCED TO 463 TONNES (TO THE NEAREST TONNE).

3301

PLEASE NOTE THAT 2812 ASKED FOR THE NUMBER OF 'LICENSED IVORY

TRADERS' RATHER THAN THE NUMBER OF POSSESSION LICENCES. AS AT 7

JULY 1990 THERE WERE 879 COMMERCIAL STOCKHOLDERS WHICH WAS

REDUCED TO 870 AS AT 17 OCTOBER 1990 BY VIRTUE OF TEN

CANCELLATIONS AND ONE ADDITION DUE TO LOCAL TRANSFERS OF IVORY

STOCKS. THE NUMBER OF POSSESSION LICENCES ISSUED TO COMMERCIAL

STOCKHOLDERS IS LARGER THAT THE NUMBER OF STOCKHOLDERS BECAUSE WE ISSUE TWO SEPARATE POSSESSION LICENCES TO STOCKHOLDERS WHO POSSESS STOCKS WITH AND WITHOUT CITES DOCUMENTATION. HENCE THERE

WERE 985 POSSESSION LICENCES HELD BY THE 870 COMMERCIAL

STOCKHOLDERS AS AT 17 OCTOBER 1990. THERE WERE 995 POSSESSION

LICENCES ISSUED TO THE 879 STOCKHOLDERS AS AT 7 JULY 1990. IT WAS

UNFORTUNATE THAT OUR DRAFT REPLY TO 2812 DID NOT CLARIFY THAT THERE ARE NO 'LICENSED IVORY TRADERS' AS SUCH. WE SIMPLY HAVE A NUMBER OF COMMERCIAL IVORY STOCKHOLDERS WHOSE STOCK ARE COVERED BY A NUMBER OF POSSESSION LICENCES. WE SUGGEST THAT AN ADDITIONAL SENTENCE SHOULD BE ADDED TO OUR DRAFT REPLY TO 3301 TO THE EFFECT THAT THE FIGURE OF 879 GIVEN IN REPLY TO 2812 HAS SUBSEQUENTLY

BEEN CLARIFIED TO BE THE NUMBER OF POSSESSORS OF COMMERCIAL IVORY

STOCKS IN HONG KONG AT 7 JULY 1990 AND THAT THE NUMBER OF POSSESSION LICENSES ISSUED AT THAT DATE WAS 995, REFLECTING THE

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