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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>Origin of invasive species. Please tell Hong Kong to stop this> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b>From:</b> aliens-l-request@list.auckland.ac.nz <aliens-l-request@list.auckland.ac.nz> <b>On Behalf Of </b>Shyama Pagad<br><b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, June 28, 2022 3:28 AM<br><b>To:</b> aliens-l Mailing List <aliens-l@list.auckland.ac.nz>; issgmemberslist@list.auckland.ac.nz<br><b>Cc:</b> Sophie Le Clue <slc@admcf.org>; Christie Wong <christie.wong@admcf.org>; Sam Inglis <si@admcf.org><br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [Aliens-L] New report on Hong Kong's exotic pet trade<o:p></o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div><div><blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 6.0pt;margin-left:4.8pt;margin-right:0in'><div><div><div><blockquote style='margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt'><div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;color:#222222'>FYI</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;color:#222222'>We write to share the latest report from the ADM Capital Foundation, a non-profit working on environmental issues out of Hong Kong. Our wildlife programme is focused on IWT and the exotic pet trade and we've just completed a report entitled '<i><a href="https://bit.ly/3MgTD7m">Wild, Threatened, Farmed: Hong Kong's Invisible Pets</a></i>'!</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><div><p class=xmsonormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#222222'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=xmsonormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;color:#222222'>We wanted to share our report with you and </span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;color:#222222'>colleagues within the IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG), as the work of the group informed our own and we hope our findings may, in turn, support the work of the ISSG or at least shed new light on Hong Kong's relevance in the trade of exotics.</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:#222222'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=xmsonormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:#222222'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=xmsonormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;color:#222222'>The scale of the trade in Hong Kong is disproportionately large and likely ecologically impactful. There are a number of findings that we believe would be of interest to ISSG colleagues. These include:</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:#222222'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=xmsonormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;color:#222222'>- 4 million live exotic animals drawn from over 700 species were imported in Hong Kong from 84 countries between 2015 and 2019 (pg 19).</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#222222'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=xmsonormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;color:#222222'>- From our review of the literature, a</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;color:#222222'>s many as 125 bird, 23 fish, 19 reptile, eight mammal, four amphibian and two marine invertebrate species, alien to Hong Kong, have been introduced into the local environment over the last century (pg 40).</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:#222222'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=xmsonormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;color:#222222'>- We found that despite the HK Government's stance that species such as Red-eared sliders are driving endemic species towards local extinction, they permitted over 60,000 to be imported (2015-2019) (pg 41).</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:#222222'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=xmsonormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;color:#222222'>- Local studies have found 'mercy releases' (practised since at least the 1940s) to be a key mechanism for introducing alien (potentially invasive) species into local ecosystems. Many of the animals, such as bullfrogs, have been in poor condition upon release (pg 41-43).</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:#222222'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=xmsonormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;color:#222222'>- Species, such as snapping turtles (imported in their hundreds of thousands), have been identified in the local environs, released when they presumably became too challenging for pet owners to keep in small HK apartments (pg 41 & 58). </span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:#222222'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=xmsonormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;color:#222222'>- Two-thirds of the 2.8 million CITES-regulated animals imported were ‘Vulnerable'. Just 0.03% of CITES animals were drawn from species whose populations are known to have been increasing (pg 31).</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#222222'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=xmsonormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;color:#222222'>- 70% of the 1.2 million non-CITES animals were drawn from species whose wild populations are in a state of decline or is unknown (pg 32).</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#222222'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=xmsonormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;color:#222222'> </span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#222222'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=xmsonormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;color:#222222'>And those are just some of the trade & conservation-focused facts. We also spent considerable effort delving into animal welfare concerns (pg 46), public & animal health (pg 74) and, ultimately, areas for potential policy and regulatory enhancement (pg 97). We have a number of recommendations to address the challenges we've observed (pg 147), most focused locally within Hong Kong. We have zeroed in on a few of the most critical areas (i.e., positive list, returning safeguards to the Possession License system, reviewing biosecurity protocols, enhancing traceability, incentivising improvements in trade). We will be working over the coming months to move the needle in a whole variety of areas!</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#222222'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=xmsonormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;color:#222222'> </span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#222222'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><div><p class=xmsonormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;color:#222222'>Hopefully, this report is of interest to you and your colleagues at ISSG. It is available on our <a href="https://bit.ly/3MgTD7m">website</a> and we also have videos on <a href="https://youtu.be/cCgBoENpKAU">YouTube</a>, <a href="https://fb.watch/d5zv3KTSUC/">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/Cdr00MmgF0E/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link">Instagram</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/adm-capital-foundation_wild-threatened-farmed-hong-kongs-invisible-activity-6932544160516165632-liZL?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=member_desktop_web">LinkedIn</a>! If you know of anyone else who might be interested, please do pass along or feel free to introduce us! If you'd like to learn more, please let us know!</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#222222'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=xmsonormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;color:#222222'> </span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#222222'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=xmsonormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;color:#222222'>Best,</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#222222'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div></div></div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://admcf.org/"><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1155CC;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=201 height=40 style='width:2.0937in;height:.4166in' id="_x0000_i1025" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/FYgDiwlsR34COhzDt5kT2Qu5xA5UQHkZW6W5Pei_VyxHH98GKmn39a9j2kVT9UR14Mza10Ai4Sen2aYDFN07-ocdf_dgEtOmtw7bRrxW0zaAAqMwoievg1jkVjy7-zgmLQQ0eVcv"></span></b></a><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#06596D'>Sam Inglis </span></b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#06596D'>|</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'> <span style='color:#666666'>Wildlife Programme Manager</span></span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><br></span><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#666666'>ADM Capital Foundation</span><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#666666'>Suite 2405, 9 Queen’s Road, Central, Hong Kong</span><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>T: +852 <b>2810 6634</b> | F: +852 2810 6865</span><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#06596D'>Act for our planet</span></b><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#06596D'>:</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'> </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/admcapitalfoundation/"><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#06596D'>Facebook</span></a><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'> | </span><a href="https://twitter.com/ADMCapFound"><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#06596D'>Twitter</span></a><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'> | </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/admcf/"><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#06596D'>Instagram</span></a><o:p></o:p></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://chinawaterrisk.org/"><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#84B585'>China Water Risk</span></a><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'> | </span><a href="http://chooserighttoday.org/"><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#84B585'>Choose Right Today</span></a><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'> | </span><a href="http://www.supporthk.org/en"><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#84B585'>Support HK</span></a><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'> | </span><a href="http://tlffindonesia.org/"><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#84B585'>TLFF</span></a><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'> | </span><a href="http://aarambhindia.org/"><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#84B585'>Aarambh India<br></span></a><o:p></o:p></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></blockquote></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></p></div></blockquote></div></div></div></div><div id="DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2">
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