20 Jul 2007 - New Delhi,
India – WWF-India, TRAFFIC and members of
the International Tiger Coalition have launched
a signature campaign to draw attention to
the plight of tigers in the wild, and to
help stop trade in tiger parts and products.
"It is now or never for the Indian
tiger," said Ravi Singh, Secretary-General
of WWF-India.
"Clearly [the Indian] government needs
to be as effective at implementing on-the-ground
measures as it has been in lobbying on the
global platform to save the tiger and its
habitat. People too must spread the word
and do their bit to save the tiger."
A 36-square-metre tiger photo mosaic —
created from over 20,000 photo portraits
sent to the International Tiger Coalition
by people from more than 150 countries worldwide
— was also unveiled as part of the campaign.
Previously, the mosaic had been displayed
at the recent Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna
and Flora (CITES) meeting in The Hague,
Netherlands. India was one of the top 10
contributors to the mosaic.
The mosaic was a protest against raising
captive tigers for trade in their parts.
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. These
farms 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 rebuffing raising captive tigers
for trade.
"We hope this campaign will go a long
way in spreading awareness about the importance
of tiger conservation," said Samir
Sinha, Head of TRAFFIC India.
Hundreds of schoolchildren were present
and signed the petition at the launch, as
were forest guards who are at the very forefront
of tiger conservation on the ground.
Joanna Benn, Communications Manager
WWF Global Species Programme
Samir Sinha, Head
