HONG KONG MAKES RECORD SEIZURE OF PANGOLIN SCALES, IVORY

HONG KONG — Hong Kong customs officers have intercepted a record 8.3 tons of pangolin scales and hundreds of elephant tusks worth more than USD$8 million combined, underscoring the threat to endangered species from demand in Asia.

Acting on a tip from mainland Chinese authorities, local officials found the haul in mid-January in a refrigerated container labeled as frozen meat from Nigeria, officials said Friday.

They said the smugglers kept the temperature low to better disguise the smell of the illicit cargo. Police arrested two people in connection with the seizure.

It was the largest-ever seizure of pangolin scales in Hong Kong, representing the product of some 14,000 animals, and one of the largest of ivory in a decade, the officials said.

Scales of the anteater-like pangolin have for centuries been highly valued in traditional Chinese medicine. The scales, made of keratin akin to fingernails, are often roasted and ground to a powder before being added into a mix of ingredients to purportedly cure arthritis, promote breast feeding for mothers and boost male virility.

Scientists have designated all species of pangolins as being at risk of extinction. In the last two decades, the number of pangolins worldwide has dropped by about 90 percent.

Ivory tusks are a cherished decorative craft material in Asia, resulting in the devastation of wild elephant populations in Africa.

Under Hong Kong law, the importation and sales of endangered species and their products can be punished by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $1.3 million.

China and Hong Kong have sought to crack down on the illegal trade, although the semiautonomous port and financial center remains a major transit point for endangered species products and other contraband.

Last year, following the outlawing of ivory sales in mainland China, Hong Kong’s legislature enacted a complete ban on the local ivory trade to take effect by 2021, while raising penalties for offenders.

Meanwhile, a court in Thailand this week dismissed charges against a Thai man believed to be a kingpin in the illicit trade, according to Freeland, an organization that works with police to combat trafficking.

Police arrested Boonchai Bach just over a year ago at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport for his alleged involvement in the smuggling of 11 kilograms (24.2 pounds) of rhino horns from Africa worth $700,000. A Chinese man and a Thai wildlife quarantine officer accused of assisting the smugglers were also arrested.

Citing a lack of evidence, the Samut Prakan Provincial Court found Boonchai Bach not guilty of multiple charges relating to wildlife trafficking, Freeland said.

Boonchai was suspected of running a large trafficking network on the Thai-Lao border that spread into Vietnam. According to Freeland, he and his family played a key role in a criminal syndicate that smuggled items including ivory, rhino horn, pangolins, tigers, lions and other rare and endangered species.

“Prosecution of a complex transnational organized crime case like this requires a multi-agency effort to bring all the pieces of the puzzle together,” said Steven Galster, founder of Freeland. “Instead, we saw a kingpin walk free after a narrowly focused case fell apart when the prosecution’s only major witness flipped in front of his boss.”

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British ivory bill is 'best Christmas gift' for threatened elephants worldwide

The British government last Thursday banned the sale of ivory, shutting down one of the world’s largest legal domestic ivory markets.

With the British ivory bill being granted Royal Assent, most ivory sales will now be treated as criminal offences in the UK.

Mary Rice, executive director UK-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), said: “Following on the heels of China’s closure of its own domestic ivory market at the start of the year, this is the best Christmas present the UK could have given the world’s threatened elephant populations in Africa and Asia."

She aded that the bill being made into law is "an important move which recognises the need to take firm action to protect elephant populations from poaching and ivory trafficking"

Rice also urged the British government to offer necessary resources for proper implementation and enforcement of the act. She also called on the EU and Japan, two of the remaining legal ivory markets, to ban domestic ivory sales.

In January 2016, EIA led 26 organisations to petition the British government to shut its domestic ivory market.

The agency's 2017 trade study revealed the UK to be the biggest legal importer of ivory in the world – and the largest exporter of legal ivory to the trafficking hotspots of Hong Kong and China. Between 2010 and 2015, the nation exported more legal ivory than any other country, highlighting the significant role it plays in the international ivory trade.

Moreover, a government’s subsequent public consultation on a proposed ivory ban resulted in the participation of more than 70,000 people and organisations - with more than 88 percent in favour of a ban.

The UK’s new Ivory Act is one of the strongest ivory bans in the world and covers the vast majority of items in trade, subject to certain narrow exemptions.

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United Kingdom, Taiwan announce they will introduce elephant ivory bans

Two more nations this week announced their decision to come down hard on commercial sales of elephant ivory, further strengthening the global campaign to save these gentle giants from poachers and wildlife traffickers.

On Tuesday, the United Kingdom said it will introduce what Prime Minister Teresa May described as “one of the toughest bans on ivory sales in the world.” On the same day, on the other side of the world, the government of Taiwan announced its intention to ban all commercial sales of ivory products, starting 2020.

Britain’s announcement follows a swell of public opinion against elephant ivory — when the U.K. government solicited public input last December, 88 percent of respondents supported a ban on ivory sales. HSI sent a detailed submission to the government on behalf of 19,623 of our supporters who agreed that only the strictest regulation would be acceptable. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, a vocal proponent of the ivory ban, applauded the public support, stating that it is “vitally important that we reverse the tragic decline in elephant populations.”

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Hong Kong’s ivory ban sparks fresh hope for endangered elephants

Along with China's ban last year, the Hong Kong government's decision to outlaw the sale of ivory has conservationists hopeful it will bring down the rate at which elephants are being poached in Africa.

March 2, 2018 —Smooth white bracelets, intricate carvings of women in flowing gowns, and majestic horses are among the countless items that are disappearing from shop windows in mainland China as the government implements an ivory trading ban for the world’s largest consumer of ivory.

And now Hong Kong, the largest ivory retail market, is preparing to do the same. Lawmakers voted Jan. 31 to ban the sale of ivory starting in 2021, and increase penalties for wildlife crimes. Both bans include exceptions for certain antiques and cultural relics.

Wildlife researchers say the ivory bans in China and Hong Kong are promising steps toward conserving elephant populations, as legal markets often function as a cover for illegal markets. By closing legal markets of ivory, legislators and conservationists hope to further restrict access to ivory and lower prices and demand for ivory products.

“Bans on ivory reduce the incentive to poach for elephants because there’s nowhere for the ivory to go,” says Elly Pepper, deputy director of the wildlife trade initiative at the Natural Resources Defense Council in Washington.

Banning ivory, along with wider efforts to crack down on the illegal ivory trade, is ultimately aimed at saving elephants whose numbers are threatened by high levels of poaching.

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