The Government of China has revealed it allows commercial trade in tiger bone and rhino horn from farmed animals for use in traditional Chinese medicine research and clinical treatments, a brazen and regressive move which drastically undermines international efforts for tiger and rhino conservation
The Anti-Smuggling Bureau of Customs in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, seized two tiger skins, two leopard skins, 17 snow leopard skins and other illegal wildlife parts. Lhasa has long been a key transit and sales hub for illegal trade in Asian big cat parts and derivatives from animals poached in south Asia
During discussions at the 17th Conference of the Parties (CoP17) to CITES, several member states including Lao PDR overruled a proposal from China to delete a Decision to end tiger farming. This is a powerful message that shows the rest of the world can see that tiger farming has no place in tiger conservation.
The 3rd Asia Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation, running from April 12-14 in New Delhi, has culminated with the adoption of a resolution that new impetus is needed to end poaching and the trafficking of tiger parts and derivatives, and to halt declines of tiger habitat and prey
Tiger range countries must commit to end tiger farming and all domestic and international trade in parts and derivatives of tigers from captive facilities, many of which are engaged in legal and illegal trade. There are an estimated 7,000 tigers in captivity in so-called tiger farms in South-East Asia and China
The Environmental Investigation Agency and 17 other organisations have today released a collective letter at the 66th meeting of the CITES Standing Committee in Geneva which calls for urgent action to end tiger farming and trade