Stiffer Hong Kong penalties helping to fight illegal wildlife trade: authorities

Hong Kong has seen no “significant seizures” of smuggled ivory and pangolin scales since 2021, the government has said, attributing it to heavier penalties while animal rights groups pointed to international efforts in tackling the illegal wildlife trade as also helping.

In a written reply to the legislature on Tuesday, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said the number of smuggling cases involving products from some highly endangered species, such as elephant ivory, pangolins and rhino horn, had “dropped significantly” with increased prosecution and penalties.

“Since 2021, there have been no significant smuggling cases of elephant ivory or pangolin scales seized in Hong Kong, and there has been only one case involving 6.3kg [13.9lbs] of rhinoceros horn in February with an estimated value of around HK$2.5 million (US$322,000),” the department said.

The department said “significant seizures” referred to smuggling cases “with a large quantity of endangered species specimens that are often found in shipping containers”, but did not specify whether it was by volume or market value.

In 2020, two travellers were sentenced to up to 27 months in jail after attempting to smuggle 50kg of pangolin scales from the Democratic Republic of Congo to mainland China via Hong Kong.

The Organised and Serious Crime Ordinance (OSCO) was amended in August 2021 to cover certain wildlife trafficking-related crimes, allowing authorities to secure court orders for documents that would otherwise be inaccessible during investigations. It also enabled judges to apply heavier penalties.