22 Jan 2007 - Moscow, Russia – Law enforcement officials
in the Russian Far East have confiscated one of the country's
largest caches of tiger skins and bones and other illegal
wildlife products.
The bust came when police stopped a driver close to the
border with China who claimed to be delivering bags of potatoes.
On futher inspection, they discovered the contraband, which
included three Siberian tiger skins, eight tiger paws and
332 tiger bones, as well as 531 saiga horns and 283 Asiatic
black bear paws, took place in a village near the Russian
border with China.
“Dozens of Siberian tigers are killed by poachers annually
in the Primorye and Khabarovsk regions of Russia and their
skins and body parts are smuggled to China,” said Pavel
Fomenko, Biodiversity Programme Coordinator at WWF-Russia’s
Far-Eastern branch.
“Poaching for illegal wildlife trade for use in traditional
medicines, as trophies and in fashion is a significant threat
to many species in this region.”
According to WWF, saiga antelope horns are often smuggled
to Russia through Kazakhstan and on to China. Asiatic black
bear and brown bear are usually killed for their gall bladders
and furs. The paws are eaten in soup.
“Endangered species do not belong on your mantle or in
your soup,” added Crawford Allan, Director of TRAFFIC North
America, the wildlife monitoring arm of WWF and the IUCN
– The World Conservation Union.
“To secure the future of these animals in the wild, we
are working witho ur partners to build capacity and boost
cooperation among Russian, Chinese and Mongolian authorities
to improve cross-border coordination and strict enforcement
of wildlife laws.”
All species represented in the seizure are protected by
Russian and international law. The global CITES treaty (Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna
and Flora) prohibits all commercial international trade
in the Siberian tiger and the Asiatic black bear, for example.
Russian law prohibits the taking, purchase, sale, transportation
or export of these protected species.
WWF regards the Russian Far East as a critical conservation
priority for endangered Siberian tigers and Amur leopards
and has focused on reducing poaching, curbing illegal logging
in tiger habitat, and protecting key species in the region
since the early nineties. The global conservationo organization
has also established anti-poaching ranger brigades, helped
create new protected areas, and trained and educated government
officials on the illegal trade of wildlife products.
“We haven't seen a wildlife bust out in the countryside
like this in a decade,” said Dr Darron Collins, Managing
Director of WWF’s Amur-Heilong programme.
“It's horrible that such a slaughter took place and the
demand for these products is still there, but the criminals
were caught and that alone demonstrates Russia's commitment
to quelling the problem. The big question now is how will
these guys be prosecuted?”
Daria Kudryavtseva, Press Officer
WWF-Russia
Kathleen Sullivan, Senior Communications Manager
WWF-US
