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Following is a question by the Hon Chan Ka-lok and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, in the Legislative Council today (November 25):
Question:
The international trade in ivory has been banned (the ban) by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) since 1990, and the Government has enacted the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance (Cap 586) to give effect to CITES. Ivory legally imported before the ban may not be re-exported for commercial purposes, but may be traded locally in Hong Kong if they have been registered with the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) and are kept under a valid Licence to Possess (Possession Licence) issued by the AFCD. Regarding the protection of endangered species of animals and plants, will the Government inform this Council :
(1) of the number of ivory smuggling cases cracked down by the authorities since January this year, the details of the ivory (including quantity and market value), the destinations, the respective numbers of persons arrested, prosecuted and convicted, as well as the maximum and the minimum penalties imposed on those convicted; among the confiscated ivory, of the respective quantities of ivory which is still being stockpiled by the authorities at present and which has been disposed of;
(2) regarding the biggest case among those mentioned in (1), of the quantity and the market value of the ivory involved, the respective numbers of persons arrested, prosecuted and convicted, as well as the penalties imposed on those convicted;
(3) given that the AFCD indicated in May last year that the confiscated ivory stockpile of about 28 tonnes would be disposed of by incineration in phases and the disposal was expected to be completed by the middle of this year, of the current progress of the work concerned; whether there is still some ivory yet to be disposed of; if so, of the quantity concerned and when the authorities expect the disposal of the remaining ivory to be completed; the expenditure and manpower involved in the disposal so far;
(4) given that between 2011 and 2013, the number of holders of Possession Licences, the quantity of ivory covered by such licences and the quantity of ivory registered for commercial purposes were on the rise, whether the authorities have taken the initiative to look into the causes for such rises;
(5) given that people in possession of ivory as personal effect or for non-commercial purposes before the ban are not required to apply for Possession Licences, and they are required to apply to the AFCD if they intend to change the use of the ivory in their possession for commercial purposes after the ban, of the mechanism adopted by the AFCD for vetting and approving such applications; the relevant vetting and approval criteria and the restrictions to which the power of the AFCD in vetting and approving such applications is subject; the respective numbers of applications approved and rejected by the AFCD each year since 2011, as well as the grounds for making the relevant decisions; how the authorities prevent people from using the vetting and approval mechanism to turn smuggled ivory into ivory that may be legally sold;
(6) of the number of cases involving the smuggling of species listed in Cap 586 cracked down by the authorities since January this year, the details of the smuggled items (including the species, quantities and market values), the destinations, the respective numbers of persons arrested, prosecuted and convicted, as well as the maximum and the minimum penalties imposed on those convicted; and
(7) of the expenditure and manpower involved in the implementation of the provisions of CITES in each of the past three years; whether the authorities have plans to allocate more resources to combat the relevant smuggling activities; if they do, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
The Government is committed to the implementation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) through the enforcement of the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance (Chapter 586) (the Ordinance).
(1) Details regarding the ivory smuggling cases cracked down by the authorities during January to October this year are set out below:
Number of cases 97
Quantity of ivory 1 100 kg
Value of the detected ivory $11 million
Number of persons prosecuted 25
Number of persons convicted 25
Maximum penalty Imprisonment of
six months
Minimum penalty A fine of $30,000
The ivory seized mainly came from South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria. Although they were reported to be destined for Hong Kong, yet according to intelligence analysis, it was believed that the majority of them would be transferred to peripheral regions.
The 1 100 kg of ivory seized between January and October 2015 have hitherto been kept by the Government and will be disposed of by incineration.
(2) Details regarding the largest case of ivory smuggling activities between January and October this year are set out below:
Quantity of ivory seized 164 kg
Value of the seized ivory $1.3 million
Number of persons prosecuted 0*
Number of persons convicted 0
Penalty -
* No arrest was made in the case.
(3) About 22 tonnes of ivory has been disposed of by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) so far and the remaining ivory is scheduled to be disposed of by mid-2016. The progress of ivory disposal takes longer time than expected because the incinerator used for ivory disposal has been put under maintenance for about two months in mid-2015. Also, some ivory is being kept by the Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) and it takes time to complete the relevant legal procedures before the handover of ivory to the AFCD. About 3.3 tonnes of ivory, which has been newly confiscated since 2014, will also be disposed of by incineration. The expenditure involved in disposing of the about 28 tonnes of confiscated ivory stockpile is about $210,000 and the manpower requirement is meet by deployment of existing staff.
(4) In the 1980s, Hong Kong was a trade centre of ivory in the Asian region, and substantial amount of ivory had been legally imported into Hong Kong in accordance with the CITES provisions before the international trade ban in 1990. After being registered with the AFCD, such ivory can be legally traded in Hong Kong under a Licence to Possess, and a separate Licence should be obtained for each keeping premises. Between 2011 and 2014, the registered ivory under Licences to Possess has been reduced from 116.5 tonnes to 111.3 tonnes and the number of the Licences from 431 to 413. Numbers of both items did not show any increasing trend.
(5) Applications for Licences to Possess ivory for commercial purposes are strictly scrutinised by the AFCD in accordance with relevant provisions of the Ordinance. When vetting the applications, the AFCD will require the applicants to prove that the ivory involved had been legally imported into Hong Kong before the international trade ban and that they were registered at that time. The vetting and approval mechanism includes inspection of documents and relevant transaction records certifying that the ivory was imported legally and examination of the types, quantities and markings (if applicable) of the ivory against the AFCD's records. If the applicant fails to provide relevant documentary proof, the AFCD will reject the corresponding application. After the AFCD's consideration, a person with a Licence to Possess is allowed to conduct commercial transaction of ivory in Hong Kong according to the conditions listed on the Licence. It is believed that the abovementioned stringent vetting process could effectively prevent people from turning smuggled ivory into ivory that may be legally sold. Applications for Licences to Possess are generally made for renewal, only a few individuals apply for Licences to Possess for commercial purpose regarding their registered ivory which was originally for their personal and non-commercial use. The AFCD does not maintain statistics about the application for change of purpose.
(6) There was a wide range of endangered species involved in the enforcement actions taken to combat illegal trade in endangered species. The more common species include live tortoise or turtle and snake, reptile leather product, pangolin carcass or scale, timber, ivory and orchid, etc. It is believed that the smuggling activities are destined for various cities in the region. Enforcement operations conducted by the authorities against smuggling of endangered species between January and October this year are set out below:
Number of cases 347
Quantity of items 1 058 tonnes and
24 852 pieces
Value of items $117 million
Number of persons convicted 123
Maximum penalty Imprisonment of
six months
Minimum penalty A fine of $100
(7) Manpower and the expenditure involved in the implementation of the CITES through the enforcement of the Ordinance (including combat actions against smuggling of endangered species, such as ivory) by the AFCD in the past three years are set out below:
2012-13 2013-14 2014-15
------- ------- -------
Number of staff 43 46 48
Expenditure ($million) 25.3 28.8 30.8
As the financial resources involved in the combat actions against smuggling activities have been subsumed under the general operating expenditures, the manpower and expenditure involved in such work of the C&ED could not be quantified separately.
The AFCD and the C&ED will review the manpower resource arrangement in the implementation of the CITES from time to time and will suitably seek the required manpower and resources as and when necessary.
Ends/Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Issued at HKT 14:28
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