§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has about the import of worked ivory into Hong Kong in each of the last five years, by weight and value, and what were the countries of origin.
§ Mr. EggarThe Hong Kong Government's records of the importation of worked ivory are currently collated on the basis of value and of the previous country of export. Imports, by value, in the last five years are:
Hong Kong dollars million £ million 1983 22 1.6 1984 26 1.9 1985 39 2.8 1986 55 3.9 1987 61 4.4 The bulk of this ivory was imported into Hong Kong from China, Macau, Japan and Singapore, all of which are party to the convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora.
§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps Her Majesty's Government are taking to ensure that Hong Kong complies with the provisions of conf. 6.16 of the CITES regulation agreed in Ottawa in 1987.
§ Mr. EggarCITES resolution conf. 6.16 adopted in Ottawa in 1987 made a number of recommendations for the tighter control of worked ivory. The Hong Kong Government plan to introduce subsidiary legislation to implement these recommendations during July.
We are in close and regular touch with the Hong Kong Government about this matter.
§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the Hong Kong authorities intend to ban the sale of all medicinal products containing rhino horn as from July; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. EggarThe Hong Kong Government will ban the internal sale of rhino horn in July. They intend to implement a ban on the internal sale of medicinal products claiming to contain rhino horn as soon as possible. They have concluded that such a ban cannot be achieved administratively, as they had earlier intended, but will require new legislation, which they plan to introduce later this year.