13 Jun 2007 The Hague,
The Netherlands – In a major victory for
big cat conservation, raising captive tigers
for trade in their parts was rejected by
members of the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
Parties to the international wildlife convention
also urged China to phase out its large-scale
commercial tiger farms.
Three countries with wild tigers – India,
Nepal and Bhutan – were joined by the United
States in calling on China to phase out
the country’s privately run “tiger farms”
that house nearly 5,000 big cats, and are
pushing the Chinese government to allow
legal trade in tiger parts. With leadership
from these countries, the 171 member countries
of the CITES convention adopted a strong
tiger trade decision by consensus.
“India spoke out strongly and courageously
for their wild tigers, along with Bhutan
and Nepal,” said Dr Susan Lieberman, Director
of WWF’s Global Species Programme.
“China has said that it will not lift its
ban without listening to scientific opinion
from around the world. The world spoke today
and urged China not to reopen any trade
in tiger parts and to increase protection
for tigers in the wild.”
Investors in massive, captive tiger breeding
centres in China have been pressuring the
Chinese government to lift its successful
14-year-old ban on trade in tiger parts
so they can legally sell products like tiger
bone wine and tiger meat. These facilities
have acknowledged stockpiling tiger carcasses
in the hopes that the trade ban will be
lifted.
“A legal market in China for products made
from farmed tigers would increase demand
and allow criminals to ‘launder’ products
made from tigers poached from the wild,”
said Steven Broad, Executive Director of
TRAFFIC International.
“Tiger numbers in the wild are so precarious
that we cannot risk any actions that could
jeopardize them further.”
WWF and TRAFFIC, along with a coalition
of other organizations working on tigers,
have offered guidance and technical support
to China on shutting down its tiger farms
and stepping up law enforcement efforts
to stamp out illegal trade of tiger parts.
Tiger experts from WWF and other conservation
groups warn that if tigers are to survive,
governments must stop all trade in tiger
products from wild and captive-bred sources,
as well as ramp up efforts to conserve the
species and their habitats.
Habitat loss and intense poaching of tigers
and their prey, combined with inadequate
government efforts to maintain tiger populations,
have resulted in a dramatic reduction in
tiger numbers. According to scientists,
these big cats now occupy just 7 per cent
of their historical range, and the possibility
that China could reopen trade in parts harvested
from farmed tigers represents a new threat.
Jan Vertefeuille, Communications Manager
WWF Tiger Programme
