Among the biggest threats to tigers is poaching for tiger parts such as: bones, skins, teeth and claws, which are illegally sold for high prices on the black market. Tiger bones are used in traditional Asian
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Tigers are poached for their bones, skins,
teeth and claws.
photo: WWF - Canon / Chris Martin BAHR |
medicines to treat such symptoms as joint pain and stiffness, muscular weakness, back pain, paralysis and muscular spasms.
Tigers have been used for medicinal purposes in East Asian countries for centuries and a belief in their efficacy for treating health problems is deeply rooted in national tradition. There is a growing resurgence in trade and demand for tiger skins for rugs and fashion items, particularly in Asia. Despite strict laws and tiger conservation campaigns, poaching continues in most of the tiger range states: Russia, China, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Indonesia.
Laws Protecting Tigers
The trade in tigers and their parts is prohibited from commercial international trade by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), an international treaty that includes nearly 170 member countries. The U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) prohibits interstate commerce as well as import and export of tigers and tiger products.
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Virtually all countries where tigers are found have protective laws, but enforcement varies.
photo: WWF - Canon / Martin HARVEY |
In 1994, the U.S. Congress passed the Rhino and Tiger Conservation Act, a specific measure to provide greater protection and resources for conservation of these species. In 1998, an amendment to this act called the Rhino and Tiger Product Labeling Act made it illegal to import, export, or sell products intended for "human consumption or application" that claimed to contain any substance derived from tigers. This amendment means that Customs and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials do not have to prove that a product labeled as containing a tiger derivative actually contains that substance.
Virtually all countries where tigers are found have protective laws in place, although implementation and enforcement vary significantly from country to country. The tigers in zoos and circuses are almost all captive-bred, and movement of these animals for non-commercial purposes is generally legal.
The principal tiger consumers are China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Canada, and the United States. All of these countries prohibit domestic trade in tiger parts and some (Europe, Canada, the United States, Taiwan, and South Korea) even have bans on products that merely claim to contain tiger derivatives.
Many of these regulations, as well as awareness raising campaigns implemented by TRAFFIC and other NGOs have helped. However, tigers, as well as other big cats continue to be killed because their body parts can be sold for high prices by smugglers and medicinal traders, much like rhinos, bears, and other endangered species. An individual adult tiger yields between 13 and 24 pounds of dried bone, depending on its size, and can generate a handsome profit to a smuggler.
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