Six tonnes of illegal ivory bound for Hong Kong seized since 2000: study
Watchdog finds that tonnes were seized either en route to city or while being trafficked out
Six tonnes of illegal ivory were seized en route to Hong Kong between 2000 and 2013, while three tonnes being trafficked out of the city illegally were intercepted, a green group has found.
The findings of wildlife trade watchdog Traffic come as the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department prepares to incinerate the first batch of its 30-tonne ivory stockpile today.
"It means the ivory at one point was either sitting in a container in Hong Kong from somewhere else or sourced from a market in Hong Kong," said Dr Yannick Kuehl, Traffic's regional director for east and south Asia.
Traffic came up with its findings after scrutinising trade statistics from the Elephant Trade Information System, a global database the watchdog runs for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
A spokeswoman for the Customs and Excise Department said it had been taking stringent action on the illegal trade and had played an active role in international efforts to stop ivory smuggling.
About eight tonnes of ivory were seized last year, up from 5.5 tonnes the year before, according to the department. In July, more than 1,000 tusks weighing nearly 2.2 tonnes and worth HK$17.5 million were found in a shipping container.
