The world needs to wake up to the alarm bells ringing across the tiger’s range. The United States also has a large number of captive tigers which may also become vulnerable to exploitation for illegal trade. For example, there appears to be a growing trade in tigers and their parts and products from South Africa. Other countries should also take action to ensure they are not implicated in the trade in captive tiger parts and products. This represents a significant opportunity for Thailand to end all tiger farming within its borders and to play a leadership role in the phase-out of tiger farms in the region. The DNP has announced that it will investigate other captive tiger facilities implicated in tiger trade.
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We commend the recent bold enforcement efforts of Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP), which in June 2016 seized 137 live tigers, thousands of tiger skin amulets, 70 preserved cubs and other tiger parts from the “Tiger Temple” in Kanchanaburi Province. Despite this investment, the effects of tiger farms limit the potential gains from such work, as well as damaging those countries’ reputation in the area of species conservation. In recent years, China and Thailand have both delivered important new tiger conservation efforts on the ground.
Where tiger farms are present they only serve as an obstacle to recovery. The tiger range countries where tiger populations are beginning to show signs of recovery have high levels of political commitment, strong laws and enforcement – and no tiger farms. The wild tiger population has declined by over 95 per cent over the past 100 years 2016 has also marked a significant upsurge in tiger poaching and trade where in India more tigers were killed in the first five months of 2016 than in the whole of 2015. In the four tiger farming countries alone there are approximately 7,000-8,000 captive tigers in large tiger farms, zoos and smaller facilities that keep or breed tigers. Tiger farms have expanded rapidly over the past few decades. Indeed, trade in captive tiger parts and products stimulates demand for tiger products – be it from wild or captive tigers – and undermines enforcement efforts by making it difficult to know whether seized tiger products come from wild or captive tigers. Tiger farming and trade in captive tiger body parts from and through these countries undermines tiger conservation efforts across Asia. There are currently two primary sources for trade in tiger parts and products: wild tigers in 10 range countries that are home to the last remaining wild tigers and captive tigers largely found in four tiger farming countries – China, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. The main market for tiger products are consumers in China and Vietnam, followed by smaller consumer markets in Myanmar and Laos. Tiger bone is also consumed as traditional medicine. These products are consumed largely as exotic luxury products for demonstrating social status, such as tiger skin rugs for luxury home décor or expensive tiger bone wine. These last remaining wild tigers are each threatened by trade for nearly all of their body parts – from skins and bones to teeth and claws – traded by criminals for huge profits.
The global wild tiger population is estimated to be fewer than 4,000. Today on International Tiger Day, we the undersigned 45 non-governmental organisations are urging countries with tiger farms to adopt urgent action to end tiger breeding for commercial purposes and phase out tiger farms. “How real is their commitment to save tigers?” “All eyes now are on governments as they prepare for the 17th Conference of the Parties to CITES in Johannesburg at the end of September. It’s the perfect opportunity for China, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam to announce real action to end demand for tiger parts and products. But instead of complying with that decision, the governments of China, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam have allowed tiger farming and trade to spiral out of control. “Acting in unison in 2007, we had a major win for tigers when governments agreed that tiger ‘farming’ should be stopped.
Today is International Tiger Day and EIA and 44 other NGOs are raising the alarm of increasing tiger poaching and calling for an end to all tiger farming and tiger trade.ĭebbie Banks, EIA Tiger Campaign Leader, said: “It is fantastic to see organisations from across the world unite in this call to action to end tiger farming. International Tiger Day – Zero Demand for Zero Poaching!
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