Hong Kong ivory dealers call on government to buy up stock if trade banned in city
Leung Chun-ying pledged to kick-start the legislative process to ban the import and export of elephant tusks
Ivory dealers and craftsmen want the government to compensate them, or at least buy up remaining legal stocks in city, before enacting any plan to outlaw the domestic trade.
It comes after Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying pledged in his policy address to kick-start the legislative process to ban the import and export of elephant tusks as soon as possible and explore enacting laws to completely ban the ivory trade.
The move has been welcomed internationally, with Virgin billionaire Richard Branson tweeting the “great news” yesterday.
Ivory Manufacturers Association member Lisa Cheng, who owns Wing Wah Mahjong Ivory Wares in Aberdeen Street, Central, owns a collection of ivory chopsticks, bracelets and trinkets, some dating back to the 1960s.
“I oppose poaching in Africa but we are conducting a lawful business selling licensed and lawful ivory products that were sourced before 1989.”
A global ban on the ivory trade, also covering Hong Kong, came into force in 1989. Permits were given for a handful of tusks, allowing them to be legally traded domestically after the ban.
“If they want to stop the trade, then they should be fair and buy up our stocks,” Cheng said, adding that it would still sadden her to see them incinerated.