§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much ivory has been exported from Hong Kong since 30 March; and what amounts to which countries.
§ Mr. Waldegrave[holding answer 7 June 1990]: Between 30 March 1990 to 31 May 1990 the Hong Kong CITES Authority has been notified of the following ivory exports.
686W
Destination Quantity kilograms Taiwan 1.9 South Korea 6.6 Mexico 9.8 China 3,268.6 Saudi Arabia 8.8 United Kingdom (personal affects for which the United Kingdom CITES management authority has issued licences) 5.4 Andorra 9.1
§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are being taken by the Hong Kong authorities to ensure that none of the 116 tonnes of ivory without CITES certification leaves the territory.
§ Mr. Waldegrave[holding answer 7 June 1990]: The Hong Kong authorities have made it clear that export licences will not be issued for any commercial exports of ivory without CITES certificates. The special task force set up by the Hong Kong Customs and Excise service in June 1989 is responsible for enforcing these controls.
§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are being taken by the Hong Kong authorities to monitor the movement of the 116 tonnes of ivory in the territory without CITES documentation.
§ Mr. Waldegrave[holding answer 7 June 1990]: All commercial ivory in Hong Kong, including stocks without CITES documentation, has to be registered. Those holding stocks are required to have possession licences. These licences have to be amended whenever ivory is transferred between traders. Spot checks are made to ensure that these regulations are enforced.
§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give details of the ivory seized by the special task force in Hong Kong since 22 March according to amount; from whom it was seized; what was the country of origin; and what is the current stock of confiscated ivory now held by the Hong Kong authorities.
§ Mr. Waldegrave[holding answer 7 June 1990]: Since 22 March 1990, the Customs and Excise special task force has seized five consignments of worked ivory totalling 75.35 kg. Three consignments were illegal exports from Hong Kong not permitted into the destination country and confiscated from the returning travellers. One was an illegal export from the United Kingdom. The remaining item was found in a piece of unclaimed baggage so its origins remain unknown. The Hong Kong authorities now hold 2.4 tonnes of confiscated ivory.
§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much elephant ivory was exported to South Korea from Hong Kong in 1988 and 1989; and how much has been exported since the reservation entered on behalf of Hong Kong by the United Kingdom to the CITES ban.
§ Mr. Waldegrave[holding answer 7 June 1990]: The following amounts of raw elephant ivory were exported from Hong Kong to the Republic of Korea (South Korea): 687W
Kg 1988 Nil 1989 1460 1 Value HK dollars 407,596. In addition, Hong Kong exported worked ivory—including tooth products of animals other than elephants —to South Korea as follows:
Value in HK dollars 1988 1,066,021 1989 747,742 In the period 18 January to 31 May, 214.6 kg of raw and worked elephant ivory have been exported to South Korea.