China's efforts on tiger trade threaten big cats

By Staff
|
Google Oneindia News

Jaipur, May 19: China's attempt to lift the ban on tiger trade is likely to fuel poaching in India as smuggled tiger parts will find their way into Chinese markets, caution wildlife experts.

At present, China has a captive population of about 4000 tigers in farms being bred for purely economic reasons. Traditionally, tiger bones are dried, fired and powdered and mixed with other ingredients in Chinese medicines. Other tiger parts such as claws, blood are also utilised for various supposed medicinal uses.

The Chinese government's efforts to lift the 1993 ban on domestic tiger trade and its derivatives will only compound the problem further and increase illegal poaching in India as they will find their way into Chinese markets.

According to World Wildlife Fund (WWF), even though this trade is banned as of today, still tiger farms are getting huge amounts of funding for captive breeding programmes for restocking tigers in the wild.

Ravi Singh, secretary general and CEO, WWF-India said, ''Lifting of the domestic ban on trade in tiger and its derivatives by the Chinese government will only fuel the market for tiger parts, which is currently on the decline and this in turn will encourage poaching tigers from the wild,'' he said.

''Curbing poaching will remain an arduous task as long as there is a market demand for skin, bones and other body parts in the international market,'' he added.

Rajpal Singh, a member of the Tiger Task Force and Rajasthan State Board for Wildlife said at a time when tigers are already facing threats of habitat loss, poaching, human- wildlife conflicts and illegal trade, the move of the Chinese government to lift the 1993 ban on domestic trade in tiger and its derivatives will only aggravate the problem.

''How long will the Chinese government be able to sustain its demand for tiger parts with just 4000 tigers?'', he asked.

''It is estimated that poaching a wild tiger is about 250 times cheaper than the cost of raising it in captivity. The lifting of the ban will be an encouragment for poachers to kill tigers from the wild to cater to this new market,'' he added.

He suggested that India should take a strong stance on this issue in the interest of tiger conservation in the country. He said the government should set up a Wildlife Crime Bureau which should be put into full operation through a multi-agency tiger enforcement unit as a matter of priority.

Tiger farming in China is supported by Article 17 of the Wildlife Protection Act 1988 which says ''the state shall encourage the domestication and breeding of wildlife''. Traditionally, tiger skins have been used in the Tibetan region as robes traditionally known as 'Chuba'. According to Chinese government data, at present, 4000 tigers are present in tiger farms of which the major population of tigers exist in two tiger farms nearing 1,000 tigers each at Hengdao river and Xiongsen Bear Bear and Tiger Mountain Village in Guillin.

About 1000 tigers are in 10-20 large farms while the remaining captive population of 1000 tigers is housed in 200 facilites.

Tiger farms are getting huge amounts of funding for captive breeding programmes for restocking tigers in the wild. Examples such as the Xiongen Bear and Tiger Mountain village in Guilin have been declared official centres for captive breeding and has secured funds amounting to 9,30,000 Amercian dollars for this purpose. Other sources of revenue include recreation as tiger farms attract many visitors.

The tiger carcasses are refrigerated at present in the hope that one day the domestic ban will be lifted and these could be legally sold. Reports suggest that tiger parts from these farms are already finding their way illegally into the market.

All these issues will come up for discussion as delegates from 171 countries are expected to attend the Conference of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), to be held in Hague , the Netherlands from June 3-15.

UNI

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