To bring Hong Kong's control regime fully in line with international convention, the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals & Plants Bill will be gazetted April 15, the Environmental Protection Department says.

The bill, to be tabled at the Legislative Council on April 27, will replace the existing Animals & Plants (Protection of Endangered Species) Ordinance, which regulates the import, export or possession of endangered species by a licensing system.

The system will be streamlined and the existing fee structure simplified by reducing the number of fee items from 14 to nine. Most of the existing and potential licence holders will be paying less under the streamlined system.

Under the existing ordinance, control over international trade in medicines made from regulated species does not fully meet the requirements of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna & Flora.