§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the Hong Kong Department of Agriculture and Fisheries is providing all the information on elephant ivory requested by the World Wide Fund for Nature, Hong Kong.
§ Mr. Waldegrave[holding answer 9 July 1990]: The Hong Kong Agriculture and Fisheries Department has provided all the information on elephant ivory requested by the World Wide Fund for Nature, Hong Kong, which is immediately available. The only information requested by WWF (HK) which has not yet been provided relates to the countries of origin of tusks held in Hong Kong. This information is being compiled and will be forwarded to WWF (HK) as soon as it is available.
§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the current total of all ivory known to be held in Hong Kong; and on what date it was assessed.
§ Mr. Waldegrave[holding answer 9 July 1990]: The current total of all commercial ivory stocks known to be in Hong Kong as at 7 July 1990 was 468 tonnes (to the nearest tonne).
§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his reply of 7 June,Official Report, column 688, how many spot checks have been made by the Hong Kong authorities to ensure that the regulations regarding the possession and transfer of elephant ivory are complied with.
§ Mr. Waldegrave[holding answer 9 July 1990]: Twenty-seven spot checks to ivory-holding premises were carried out by Hong Kong authorities in June 1990.
§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps have been taken by the Hong Kong authorities to check whether the 960 kg of ivory name seals recently seized by Japanese customs officers and originating from Hong Kong has disappeared from the registered ivory stock; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Waldegrave[holding answer 9 July 1990]: The Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department is investigating this case. Its preliminary findings were that the consignments (manifested as ceramic lions) had been shipped from Hong Kong. But there is no way of identifying whether the seizures in Japan were part of the 106W ivory stock registered in Hong Kong since they were all in the form of name seals. The Agriculture and Fisheries Department is, nevertheless, conducting inspections on selected stock holders. Six persons have been arrested and the Attorney-General's advice on possible prosecution is being sought.
§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his reply of 7 June,Official Report, column 688, if he will give more details of the illegal export of ivory from the United Kingdom seized by the Hong Kong customs and excise special task force.
§ Mr. Waldegrave[holding answer 9 July 1990]: The ivory consignment in question was originally exported from Hong Kong to Spain on 4 July 1989 and subsequently returned to Hong Kong via London on 10 November 1989. On arrival, it was seized by the Hong Kong customs and excise department. The exporter in Hong Kong was prosecuted and fined HK $1,000. The seizure of 55 kgs ivory products was confiscated.
§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give details of measures to be adopted by the Hong Kong authorities to prevent further exports of ivory when the reservation ends on 17 July.
§ Mr. Waldegrave[holding answer 9 July 1990]: The Hong Kong customs and excise department will continue to conduct random export checks. The department has also alerted customs administrations in the ESCAP region to the possibility of illicit shipments of ivory from Hong Kong, when the reservation ends on 17 July 1990. The Agriculture and Fisheries Department will continue to conduct suprise checks on ivory stock holders. No export licence will be issued for commercial exports of ivory from 17 July 1990, and any person found to have exported ivory without a licence will be liable to prosecution and a fine, as well as confiscation of the ivory in question.
§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the current number of licensed ivory traders in Hong Kong; and what was the number 12 months ago.
§ Mr. Waldegrave[holding reply 9 July 1990]: The number of possession licences issued to holders of commercial ivory stocks in Hong Kong was 879 as at 7 July 1990. No figures are available for the same period last year since traders have only been required to have possession licences since 12 January 1990.
§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs at what time and date the reservation entered by Her Majesty's Government on behalf of Hong Kong permitting the continuation of trade in ivory by the Crown colony will end; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Waldegrave[holding reply 9 July 1990]: The six-month reservation entered by us on behalf of Hong Kong was withdrawn with effect from midnight on 17 July 1990.
§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what circumstances ivory will be allowed to leave Hong Kong following the expiry of the reservation at midnight on 17 July; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Mr. Waldegrave[holding answer 10 July 1990]: Following the expiry of the reservation, the export of ivory from Hong Kong will be subject to the conditions specified by article III and article VII of CITES.
§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the current tradeable ivory stock held in Hong Kong; and to which countries ivory has been exported since he last answered a similar question.
§ Mr. Waldegrave[holding answer 10 July 1990]: As at 7 July, a total of 468 tonnes (to the nearest tonne) of ivory was available for trade locally, of which 352 tonnes had CITES documentation and could be exported commercially until the reservation period expired on 18 July 1990.
Between 1 June 1990 to 7 July 1990 the Hong Kong CITES authority has been notified of the following ivory exports:
Destination Quantity kilograms China 111 Andorra 41.4 Taiwan 14
§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he proposes to take to prevent Hong Kong allowing the export of worked ivory without a licence as personal effects in violation of CITES rules; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Waldegrave[holding answer 10 July 1990]: Hong Kong's legislation complies fully with the CITES Regulations. Under article VII.3 of CITES, the export of personal or household effects (without restriction on quantity) is permitted, without a licence, except where these effects are acquired by the owner outside his state of usual residence, and are being imported into that state.
§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has regarding the quantity of ivory classified as personal effects which may be exported after 18 July from Hong Kong providing import permission has been obtained from the importing country.
§ Mr. Waldegrave[holding answer 16 July 1990]: The information requested is not available.
§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give details of the type of ivory personal effects which the Hong Kong authorities will allow to be exported after the current reservation ends at midnight on 17 July.
§ Mr. Waldegrave[holding answer 16 July 1990]: After the reservation expires, the Hong Kong authorities will allow only the export of ivory personal effects in accordance with article III and article VII of CITES.