Five years to ban Hong Kong ivory trade is too long, lawmakers argue
Legislators push for a two-year time frame, but officials say 2021 is ‘fair and just’ to clear stocks
Hong Kong lawmakers from across the political spectrum are asking why legislation to ban the domestic trade in legal ivory cannot come sooner than is being proposed.
But officials are sticking to their argument that five years up to 2021 is “fair and just” and would spare them from legal challenges from a trade now subject to a licensing regime to possess and sell.
The three-step legislative plan was discussed by the Legislative Council’s environmental affairs panel for the first time on Monday.
The legislation would ban trade in hunting trophies and ivory carvings, followed by a trade ban on ivory acquired before a 1975 convention regulating the trade in endangered species, and finally, the total ban of all sales of ivory obtained before 1990, when a global trade ban was enacted.
The government says the local ivory trade is “generally inactive”.