HC Deb 10 January 1989 vol 144 cc495-7W
Mr. Tony Banks

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what changes have been made by the Hong Kong authorities in legislation following their review of measures designed to enforce their responsibilities under the convention on international trade in endangered species; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Eggar

The Hong Kong authorities have concluded that the following changes to existing Hong Kong legislation are desirable:

  1. (i) To increase maximum fines by five times.
  2. (ii) To tighten up transit requirements.
  3. (iii) To ban the import, export and possession of medicinal products purporting to contain rhinoceros ingredients.
  4. (iv) To make it an offence for persons to give false information when applying for endangered species licences.
  5. (v) To overcome certain indentification difficulties by accepting labels and accompanying documents as evidence for prosecution.
  6. (vi) To extend the power of search to cover any offence committed under the ordinance.
  7. (vii) To empower the Government to release live endangered species or dispose of perishable specimens before relevant cases come to court.

Proposals to effect these changes will be included in a [...]raft Bill which the Hong Kong Government intend to introduce into the Legislative Council during its present session.

Mr. Tony Banks

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many seizures of illegally imported endangered species were made by the Hong Kong authorities in the second six months period of 1988; how many seizures were made of similar categories intended for export; and if he will give details of all seizures made.

Mr. Eggar

During the second six-month period of 1988 the Hong Kong authorities made 186 seizures. Details of the seizures are:

Species/Parts Quantity
Illegal import Illegal possession
Felidae (Cats):
Stuffed 1
Skin 7 pieces 4 pieces and 7.3 kg scraps

Species/Parts Quantity
Illegal import Illegal possession
Deer Antlers: 110 kg 400kg
Musk Pod: 1.5 kg 0.25 kg
Elephant:
Skin 23 pieces 17 pieces
Ivory 1,205 kg —
Monkeys: — 2
Rhinoceros:
Horn — 1.5 kg
Hide — 0.5 kg
Pangolin:
Meat 33.4 kg —
Birds of Prey/Owl 15 —
Meat 0.4 kg —
Parrots: 12 —
Reptiles: 409 pieces —
Skins 3 —
Sea Turtle: 26 4
Giant Salamander: 8 5
Asiatic Bony
Tongue:
Fish 4 —
American Ginseng: 2.6 kg —

There were no seizures in respect of intended export.

Mr. Tony Banks

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many restaurant inspections were carried out by the Hong Kong authorities in the second six-month period of 1988 to ensure that no rare or endangered species of animals and plants were offered for sale as food; and if any seizures were made.

Mr. Eggar

The Hong Kong authorities carried out 170 inspections of restaurants during this period. Two sea turtles were seized during these inspections.

Mr. Tony Banks

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the operation to date of the Animals and Plants (Protection of Endangered Species) Ordinance (Replacement of Schedules) Order 1988 made by the Hong Kong Executive Council on 26 July 1988 in respect of the import of elephant tusks.

Mr. Eggar

The Animals and Plants (Protection of Endangered Species) Ordinance (Replacement of Schedules) Order 1988 came into effect on 5 August 1988. It extended the import control of ivory to all worked items. Up to 7 January 1989, 39 shipments totalling 510 kg of worked ivory items have been seized. During the same period, 133 shipments totalling 4,752 kg of worked ivory from CITES approved sources have been imported under valid licences.

Mr. Tony Banks

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on whether the ban by the Hong Kong Government on the internal sale of medicinal products containing rhino horn will also include a ban on the export of such products; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Eggar

The proposed ban on medicinal products claiming to contain rhinoceros horn ingredients will cover their import, possession and export.

Mr. Tony Banks

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many prosecutions were initiated by the Hong Kong authorities in 1988 arising from illegal imports, exports and possession of endangered species.

Mr. Eggar

Two hundred and ninety eight.

Mr. Tony Banks

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether any auctions are impending in Hong Kong of animal tusks, skins and antlers seized by the authorities.

Mr. Eggar

The Hong Kong authorities will shortly seek tenders for the sale of certain confiscated items which are permitted for commercial trade under CITES. These items include elephant tusks, skins of felidae (cat), reptiles, chinchilla and others, and deer antlers.

Mr. Tony Banks

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the progress made by the Hong Kong Government in banning the internal sale of medicinal products containing rhino horn.

Mr. Eggar

The necessary legislation is being drafted for introduction into the Hong Kong Legislative Council during its present session.