One third of licensed Hong Kong ivory retailers encourage buyers to break the law, report says
Monitoring group Traffic says some licensees press customers to export products without a permit, which is against the law
A third of all Hong Kong’s licensed ivory retailers have actively encouraged buyers to smuggle ivory out of the city without an export permit, which is illegal under the city’s laws, a new report by the wildlife trade monitor Traffic has revealed.
The practice goes to the heart of the questionable conduct of ivory licensees who have long been suspected of engaging in the laundering of so-called “white gold”.
Surveys conducted in 2015 and 2016 for the report found that a third of the 76 licensed ivory stores urged customers to engage in illegal practices by advocating the export of ivory without a required permit.
Wilson Lau, author of the Traffic report and a programme officer for the organisation, said: “Insufficient compliance by the city’s licensed traders highlights major shortcomings with Hong Kong’s current regulation of the local ivory trade.
“Clearly, the regulatory framework together with law enforcement efforts are proving insufficient deterrents, judging by how many ivory traders openly violate the rules.”
Two traders at a store were recently convicted and fined for the possession and sale of illegal ivory following a sting operation by wildlife officers from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department posing as buyers.