Hong Kong’s illegal wildlife trade flourishing despite tougher enforcement powers
- Organised and Serious Crime Ordinance amended in 2021 to cover certain wildlife trafficking-related crimes but has yet to be used for prosecutions, experts say
- Part of problem is customs and police hand cases over to conservation department, which does not have power to invoke it
Hong Kong’s illegal wildlife trade is flourishing despite the enactment of tougher laws aimed at shutting down syndicates making millions of dollars off endangered species, experts have said, noting authorities have failed to use their new powers.
The Organised and Serious Crime Ordinance was amended in 2021 to cover certain wildlife trafficking-related crimes but had yet to be used for any prosecutions, according to environmental group ADM Capital Foundation and criminal lawyer Amanda Whitfort.
The amendment, which was hailed as “historic” and “landmark” at the time, allows authorities to secure court orders to acquire documents relevant to their investigations that they would otherwise not be able to obtain. It also enabled judges to confiscate the proceeds of wildlife crimes and apply harsher penalties.
But Whitfort, a barrister and associate law professor, said the changes had so far proven essentially useless.
