HK shows leniency to illegal ivory trader
Print Edition
A Hong Kong court found an ivory trader guilty of illegal ivory possession and imposed a relatively light penalty yesterday.
Hong Kong trader Lau Sai Yuan was fined HK$8,000 (US$1,020)for illegal ivory possession after pleading guilty in Hong Kong’s Eastern Magistrates’ Court.
The maximum penalty under current laws is two years in jail. Hong Kong lawmakers are considering a significant increase in penalties, with a fine of up to HK$10 million and imprisonment of 10 years.
The special administrative region has lagged behind China’s mainland in the crackdown on illegal ivory trading and only set a timetable for a ban last year, with a phase-out time of five years.
China used to be the world’s largest importer and end user of elephant tusks. Since the end of 2017 China has implemented a total ban on ivory sales.
Wildlife activists called the ban a vital step toward reducing the slaughter of the endangered animals.
Hong Kong is a prime transit and consumption hub with more than 90 percent of consumers from the mainland. It has the largest retail market for ivory, which it has traded for more than 150 years.
Hong Kong adheres to regulations set by The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which started to regulate the international trade of ivory in the 1970s and has banned such trade since 1990.
Only “pre-Convention ivory” is allowed to be traded when the ivory is accompanied by a pre-convention certificate.
China has made a big push to eradicate ivory sales and demand has fallen since early 2014. Up to 30,000 elephants are estimated to be killed illegally every year.
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