Despite a 25-year ban, the WWF says the domestic trade in ivory still remains strong

Conservationists and ivory stockpile holders both lambasted the Hong Kong regulator for failing to curb ivory smuggling - despite their contrasting views to a proposed ban on all ivory trading in Hong Kong.

The government responded by pledging to make further changes in future.

Ivory importing and exporting has been banned in Hong Kong for 25 years. But about 400 license holders are still allowed to use and sell ivory stockpiles obtained before 1990. The government ran a city-wide survey in 1989 - all local dealers held 665 metric tonnes of ivory at that time.

Eight officers of the Agricultural, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) are now assigned to regularly track changes in the stockpile each six months. The active licensees held 111.3 tonnes of ivory in 2014 - about 10 tonnes less than in 2010. The stockpile only lost eight tonnes between 1998 and 2003.

But the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) noted in a report that the domestic ivory trade has been robust. This is due to strong demand from across the border.

Save the Elephants, a British-based charity, citing a survey, said in July there were 30,856 ivory products on sale at 72 retail outlets.

Daniel Chan Chun-bo is listed as the company secretary for the Hong Kong and Kowloon Ivory Manufacturers Association. Chan confirmed the suspicions of conservation groups: That some traders have been mixing new amounts of ivory into the stockpile which is supposed to run out.

Chan still holds some ivory stocks, though he said his handicraft factory now specializes in mammoth tusks. He said that AFCD officers, in their regular visits, weigh and photograph the remaining ivory stockpile. It would thus be hard to realize actual items had been swapped between inspections.

With over 30,000 elephants being killed each year in Africa, conservation groups are pushing harder to stop all ivory trading.

WWF Senior Wildlife Crime Officer Cheryl Lo said they would launch a petition and other publicity campaigns in coming months.

But a ban on domestic trade would not kill demand, Daniel Chan argued. The publicity campaign to discourage consumption of shark fins has yet to drive prices down, he noted. Chan compared the taste for ivory to the choice of a vegetarian diet. "You can't force other people to stop eating meat just because you don't eat it."

The trader said the international community should instead tackle inadequate enforcement of the origin and destination of ivory being exported to some African countries and the mainland. But Cheryl Lo said it was unrealistic to expect enforcement in parts of Africa controlled by guerrillas and terrorists.

But Daniel Chan does support more stringent regulations on the conversion of raw tusks into handicraft products. This would benefit law-abiding traders. The regulator should issue certificates to each individual handicraft regardless of its value and size. This is to clearly monitor consumption of the pre-1990 stockpile.

The certificate system would allow buyers to distinguish the legal stockpile. But Chan admitted his idea was not popular with other businesses. He said some traders had engaged in illegal smuggling because offers from African hunters were low and profits were lucrative.

Hong Kong Customs have seized over 33 tonnes of smuggled ivory since 2000. Customs officers just stopped another 51 kilograms of cut ivory pieces at the city's airport on Sunday. This was the second seizure in a week. Both parcels, declared as decorative tiles, had originated from Zimbabwe.

AFCD, in a statement, noted the call to block all local trade "is not backed by" any international obligations, including the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. There is currently no plan to ban all trade of ivory.

"Hong Kong has been identified as a place of concern primarily due to our reporting of seizures of illegally imported ivory to the international community," an AFCD spokesperson wrote in response to a query from China Daily. But the spokesperson accepted the need to enhance the regulatory regime after a recent review amid growing concern.

The regulator stated "tightening regulation on domestic trade" would be more effective in tackling ivory smuggling. Measures implemented or "in the pipeline" included a comprehensive stock check at all licensed premises and retailers, use of hologram marking system and carbon dating.

The WWF said over 90 percent of ivory products sold domestically would eventually end up with mainland buyers.

kahon@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 09/08/2015 page6)