Asia’s big cats continue to be threatened by a growing, unchallenged demand for their body parts.
There are fewer than 4,000 wild tigers and anywhere between 3,920-6,390 snow leopards, while leopards remain one of the most traded of Asia’s big cats. Since 2000, the parts of over 1,700 tigers have been seized, while populations in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam are considered to be functionally extinct. In the same period, the parts of over 270 snow leopards and of over 4,800 leopards have been seized.
Skins are used as rugs and taxidermy specimens for home décor, often purchased as non-financial bribes. Buyers in China include the military, officials and businesspeople. Bones are used in traditional medicine and for manufacturing tiger bone wine.