§ Mr. Hardyasked the Secretary of State for Trade (1) what was the tonnage of ivory imported into the United Kingdom in 1976 and 1977, the number of licences issued by the Department of the Environment, the number of licences returned to that Department, and the tonnage of ivory imports accounted for by such licences;
(2) how many wild feline skins imported under Tariff Heading 43013587 into the United Kingdom in 1976 and in 1977 were licensed by the Department of the Environment and recorded by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise; which species of wild felines were involved; and which of these are listed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora;
(3) how many leopard, jaguar and ocelot skins were imported into the United Kingdom in 1976 and in 1977; and how many of the skins were covered by licence from the Department of the Environment;
(4) what is the volume of reptile skins imported from France and from the 299W Union of Soviet Socialist Republic and the number of licences issued by the Department of the Environment for such imports in 1976 and in 1977.
§ Mr. DellThe following is the information available from the United Kingdom Overseas Trade Statistics and De-
TABLE 1A—ACTUAL IMPORTS OF RAW IVORY (ALL FORMS) Year Weight 1976 27,426 kilogrammes (27.4 metric tonnes) 1977 18,827 kilogrammes (18.8 metric tonnes) source: United kingdom Overseas Trade Statistics.
TABLE 1B—IMPORT LICENCES FOR RAW ELEPHANT IVORY Year Licences issued Year Licences returned used* Number of licences Kilogrammes Covering Tusks Pieces Number of licences Kilogrammes Covering Tusks Pieces 1976 44 81,433 (81.4 metric tonnes) 335 323 14 2,485 (2.5 metric tonnes) 201 323 1977 36 31,407 (31.4 metric tonnes) 305 — 8 6,779 (6.8 metric tonnes) 211 — Source: Department of the Enviornment.
TABLE 1C—IMPORT LICENCES FOR OTHER FORMS OF RAW IVORY Licences issued Licences returned used* 1976 1977 1976 1977 Number of licences Number of items Number of licences Number of items Number of licences Number of items Number of licences Number of items Total 18 9 12 3 covering: Boar tusks (pieces) 2 6,000 — — 2 6,000 — — Ox teeth 2 22,000 — — 1 2,000 — — Lions' teeth 1 40 1 6 1 40 — — Narwhal tusks 4 80 1 25 2 52 — — Sperm whales' teeth 4 (a) 700 teeth 6 3,040 teeth 2 700 2 291 (b)3,000 lbs. (c) 500 kgs. Sharks' teeth 5 10,905 1 2,000 4 10,405 1 2,000 Sharks' teeth (pieces) 2,000 — — 2,000 — — Sharks' jaws (teeth from) 200 — — 200 — — Source: Department of the Environment.
Notes to Table 1 (A-C):
(i) As import licences may express quantity in terms of either weight or number, it is not possible to say what tonnage of ivory they represent.
(ii) The Overseas Trade Statistics may include imports of the tusks of extinct species, such as the mammoth and mastodon.
300Wpartment of the Environment records. The licensing of imports under the Endangered Species (Import and Export) Act 1976 is a matter for the Secretary of State for the Environment: Enforcement rests with Her Majesty's Customs and Excise.
301W
TABLE 2—WILD FELINE SKINS IMPORTED UNDER TARIFF HEADING 4301–3587 Number of skins covered by licences returned used* Species 1976 1977 16,583 15,594 Tiger Tiger cat Leopard cat Margay Serval Geoffroy's cat Source: Department of the Environment.
Notes to Table 2:
(i) All the above species are currently listed in the Appendices to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna.
(ii) Recent inquiries have shown that the bulk of imports entered under this tariff heading in the Overseas Trade Statistics for 1976 and 1977 in fact related to weasels, foxes, badgers and other non-feline animals which should have been recorded under heading 4301–5022. Investigation of the statistics is continuing and corrected figures will be made available by H.M. Customs as soon as possible.