§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the current size of ivory stocks in Hong Kong; and on what date it was assessed.
§ Mr. Waldegrave[holding answer 23 April 1990]: The current size of commercial ivory stocks in Hong Kong was 472 tonnes (to the nearest tonne) as at 21 April 1990.
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§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his reply of 5 April,Official Report, column 765, if he will state the amount of ivory involved in each of the recent seizures; from whom it was seized; and what was the country of origin of the ivory and the current whereabouts of the ivory together with his proposals for its disposal.
§ Mr. Waldegrave[holding answer 23 April 1990]: The following seizures of ivory were made by the special task force of the Customs and Excise Department in Hong Kong between 1 June 1989 and 22 March 1990:
Quantity (kg) Seized from Country of Export 58.9 raw ivory Kim Ki Woo Korea 15 raw ivory (powder) Au Kin Choi China 8.5 raw ivory Tsai Shin Sheng Taiwan 11.7 worked ivory Abandoned by Choi Don-soo Korea 7.55 worked ivory Lau Ming Hei Thailand 0.2 worked ivory Yue Hwa Chinese Product Emporium Ltd. Japan 2.9 worked ivory Lam Kin Pui Taiwan 7.19 raw ivory Kwong Fat Cheung Ivory and Mahjong Japan 700 raw ivory Pei Lei Lai Kai Singapore 15.5 mammoth ivory Lee Chor Mui Japan 2.3 worked ivory Andrew Stephen Yuen Thailand 100 worked ivory Sun Hung Ngai Trading Company USA 55 worked ivory Wong Wing Shing Spain 4 worked ivory Unclaimed baggage France 26.3 worked ivory Art of Sea Ivory Company China 3.1 worked ivory Liu Shih Haiao Taiwan 3.8 worked ivory Shih Shia Loon Taiwan 1.3 worked ivory Fang Tsu Chick Thailand 2.5 worked ivory Chang Lin Kuei Chuo Taiwan 17.5 worked ivory Left by Transit Passenger Thailand The confiscated ivory is kept in the Hong Kong Government stores. The Hong Kong Government have no plans at present to dispose of the confiscated items.
§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his reply of 5 April,Official Report, column 765, if he will state (a) the period covered from 26 February during which 35 kg of ivory was exported from Hong Kong, (b) how much ivory has been exported since that date; and to which countries it was exported.
§ Mr. Waldegrave[holding answer 23 April 1990]: The period covered was from 26 February to 30 March 1990. The Hong Kong CITES management authority has not been notified of any ivory exports since 30 March 1990.
§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is going to happen to the 116 tonnes of ivory currently held in Hong Kong without CITES documentation.
§ Mr. Waldegrave[holding answer 23 April 1990]: The owners may continue to keep the ivory under possession licence or to dispose of it locally. But export licences will not be issued for any exports.
§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to apply isotope analysis to ivory stocks in Hong Kong to ascertain their place of origin.
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§ Mr. Waldegrave[holding answer 23 April 1990]: We do not propose to take a view on whether to apply isotope analysis to ivory stocks in Hong Kong until the technique has been properly evaluated. As my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment, stated in his reply of 13 November to the hon. Member for Linlithgow (Mr. Dalyell), the proposals concerning this technique were not discussed in any of the formal sessions at the CITES conference in October 1989. But we will study any information which may be forthcoming about these techniques in consultation with our scientific advisers.